Sway
by Hibbleton78
Summary: Single mom Bella finally has life under control again when a new PD starts working at the same radio station and teaches her that she doesn't have to be alone to take care of her responsibilities.
1. Meet Bella

**Obviously not mine, I'm just having fun tugging at the puppet strings.  
****A big thanks to Project Team Beta for being my extra sets of eyes.**

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**BPOV  
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"Wow, this place looks fantastic!" I looked around in awe at the progress that had been made on the 100 year old theater currently being renovated.

"Yeah, we're pretty far ahead of schedule. She was hiding some great bones underneath to work with. The guys have been able to move through the plans pretty quickly," explained our project foreman, Ben, with a sense of pride as we stood in the center of the empty main floor, taking in the progress around us. "Once we got rid of her outer layers, it was smooth sailing."

It was the first time I had seen the place since walls started going back up. My last inspection during demolition was frightening. The company I worked for had just purchased this historic building with plans to renovate it into a state of the art concert hall to add to our collection of venues. We'd spent millions on the building itself and the cost of permits, plans and all the little incidentals that popped up only added to the tally, even before the first contractor stepped foot in the place. With that number added to the estimated costs of the refurb planted firmly in the back of my head, I nearly passed out at the sight of piles of wood and plaster that covered just about every square inch of the venue's main floor while the teams continued to add to the mess. It took so many calming breaths to stave off the panic attack I nearly had before walking in this morning that I thought for sure I'd pass out again, this time from lightheadedness due to too much oxygen.

Looking around this place now, I could see that I had no reason to worry. It had only been a few weeks and the structure was far from finished, but the changes were dramatic. The debris had long since been cleared away and new drywall had gone up, covering all of the new wiring and whatever else these guys hid in the walls. The potential of this place was already obvious but it would take a few million dollars more before it was finished. We could have cut costs, but we were determined to recreate the original splendor of the theater while adding top of the line upgrades. A building like this was designed for acoustics and it would have been sacrilege to not upgrade the sound systems to complement the construction.

I followed Ben away from the main floor and to a hallway that led to the backstage area. The noise levels died down as the sounds of power tools grew distant. I could see a number of decorative pieces leaning against walls or laying on tables, safely away from the dust that collected on every surface in the main construction zones.

Ben pulled a couple pieces off of a nearby table and held them out for my inspection. "We just got these back the other day. We were able to salvage most of them as requested and our expert was able to create replicas to replace the ones that couldn't be saved. Once they're stained, you'll hardly be able to tell the difference."

I took the two pieces from his hands to compare them side by side on my own. "Forget this 'when they're stained' business. I can barely tell the difference now." I looked up to see Ben smiling with pride and returned with a smile of my own.

Part of maintaining the historical integrity of the building was attempting to maintain its architectural beauty at the same time. Before demolition began, a team came through and stripped the building of its decorative elements. Window arches, railings and other adornments were salvaged and shipped out to a local company that specialized in refurbishing historical architectural decorations. Our hope was that when the doors finally opened to the public that it would feel as though nothing had changed since the day the doors originally opened nearly a century ago.

I spent another hour with Ben checking the progress everywhere else in the building, going over the plans yet again, and signing off on paint colors that were to be used in the few completed rooms backstage. Leaving Ben to return to his crew, I took one last look around from the balcony before heading out. From this vantage point, I could see the work going on below but was far enough removed that I could really begin to picture the completed theater in my mind's eye. I could see the crowds seated below, waiting for the dark red curtain to part as the lights dimmed. This place was going to be spectacular and I couldn't wait to start booking shows. I pulled a small camera out of my bag and began snapping photos from every conceivable angle. We wanted to document each step in the process of restoring this gem from the run down building we had found a few months ago to the grand hall it would be when we were finished.

After one last look around, I headed back downstairs and out the side door to the private alley where I had parked. I made my way into Seattle traffic heading back to the office. It was nearly ten in the morning when I pulled into the garage although I could have sworn it was much later having already covered so much ground this morning. I coasted into my spot and turned off the ignition before grabbing my purse and heading towards the lobby of the high-rise. Our company took up two floors, the 21st and 22nd. Live entertainment was only half of our business with a half a dozen radio stations in varying formats making up the other half. My position as assistant to the General Manager allowed me to dabble in both sides.

I nodded and half-smiled my greeting to the unnamed but vaguely familiar faces that joined me in the elevator to head to their respective places of employment. A half a dozen stops to allow my "neighbors" to exit the elevator and it was finally my turn. I stepped out and was immediately greeted the receptionist, Angela.

"Hey! There she is!" she said with a big smile while placing the phone back on its cradle.

"Is someone looking for me?" I asked, with my head tilted slightly in confusion.

"Nope," she laughed. "Not that I know of, at least."

"Sorry, I'm a little slow today. The way you said that I thought someone had been searching for me." We both laughed as I added, "Maybe I just have a guilty conscience."

"Yeah, we all know what a troublemaker you are. It's only a matter of time before they come looking for you," she teased.

Playing along, I exhaled sarcastically, "I know. I'm such a wild child; I don't know how you all put up with me."

As I reached behind the ledge on her desk to raid the ever present bowl of M&M's, I asked her to fill me in on anything I may have missed so far that morning. Angela wasn't exactly the office gossip, in fact she was quite the opposite as she refused to get involved in anyone's drama, but her physical placement in the building as well as being the person that fields every call in and greets every person that steps off the elevator meant she was the go-to person when you wanted a quick summary of what was going on.

She half-heartedly attempted to swat my hands away, but was too slow. As I popped a red candy into my mouth with a laugh, she gave me the rundown. "Peter scheduled a meeting with all the sales people for Wednesday. He didn't seem too happy this morning when he walked out of his office to let the sales managers know to inform their teams, so I'm sure it'll be a fun one."

I nodded and raised my eyebrows knowingly, having read the email Peter, the General Manager, sent to me on my Blackberry while heading into the theater this morning. A few clients had been complaining lately about feeling like their sales rep hasn't been giving them the attention they've come to expect from us. While it was a relative few that this rant would apply to on Wednesday, it wasn't going to be pretty for anyone to watch. This was a pretty relaxed and laid back industry, but some of our staff seemed to take that a little too far. It certainly raised suspicion when some of them started showing up in the office at 8:30 before heading out to meet with clients, not returning until after 4:00 having only two appointments on the books.

"Everyone's pretty excited about the summer schedule that was released today. Great lineup for all the venues. Good work, Bella," she said with a congratulatory wink.

I grinned back at her and responded with a simple "thank you." This was the part of my job that I loved most, making deals to get shows booked in all of our venues. It was why Peter and I worked so well together: radio was his baby and he focused most of his attention there, while the live entertainment side was my passion. We were both still involved in the other side, but the balance worked out nicely in allowing us to each focus more heavily in one area to make sure details weren't overlooked.

"Oh, and the new PD started this morning," she added, referring to the new program director Peter had hired to take over a couple stations.

One side of her mouth was pulled into a grin and the almost devious tone of voice caused me to furrow my brow and look at her, waiting for her to elaborate. Unfortunately this business was a bit of a revolving door, though mostly with salespeople, so new hires weren't exactly hot topics around here. This made her reaction all the more intriguing. She gave a quick look around to see if anyone was within earshot before leaning in a bit closer, a nonverbal cue for me to do the same.

"Have you met him yet?" I shook my head.

"Have you seen his picture or anything, maybe a headshot for the website or something?"

Again, I shook my head no. "I spoke to him briefly on a conference call a couple weeks ago while Peter was discussing hiring him and I've heard the air checks he submitted initially, but that's it. Peter handled that whole thing on his own since I've been so busy with the architect and designer on the theater job this past month."

"Well, the ladies around here are going to be spending a lot more time primping than usual," she whispered. "The man is gorgeous. I'm not even going to try and describe, it's something you have to see for yourself."

"Poor guy. I hope he's prepared for what he's gotten himself into." We both laughed and I shook my head at the mental image of the catty girls in our office fighting for space at the mirrors in the restrooms. Some of them were absolutely desperate for attention from anything with a Y chromosome. It was a great source of entertainment for the rest of us.

"So how's the new place coming along?" Angela asked, changing the subject.

My smile widened as I launched into the details of my morning. "Beautifully! I'm so excited about this project. I can't believe how great this place looks already. If they keep up at this pace we'll definitely be able to open on its 100th anniversary in the fall."

"Really? I can't wait to see it. As run down as it was when you guys found it, you could still see the potential. I'm sure you'll have it looking better than new when you're done with it."

"I took some new pictures before I left, so I'll email them to you once I get them transferred."

The phone rang, double beeping indicating an internal call, and Angela turned her attention away from me to answer. I reached over to grab one more handful of M&M's, dodging Angela's swat. "Yeah, she's right here. She just got in a few minutes ago." She looked up at me and rolled her eyes, a small chuckle escaping. I listened closer, trying to figure out who was looking for me and why.

"No," she replied teasingly to the caller. "No, you can't talk to her. She's keeping me entertained. I'm not giving her up yet." Another pause to allow the caller to talk and Angela let out a loud, quick laugh. "Sure it's an emergency. It's always an emergency. You're so full of it, you know that? Yeah, yeah, no one's buying it. Fine, I'll let her know you're looking for her but you know that's only giving her advance warning to go into hiding, right?"

I quietly laughed and mouthed, "Emmett?" to her as she nodded to me before yelling a loud, exasperated "goodbye" into the phone.

"You're being summoned," she laughed.

"Studio or office?" I asked, unsure of where he was at the moment since his on air shift ended nearly 20 minutes ago and I was unwilling to wander around the place searching for him.

"He's still in the studio, said to have you stop in as soon as 'her highness lowers her standards enough to commune with the peasants' - his words, not mine."

"Jackass," I mumbled as I pushed off of Angela's desk and dusted the M&M debris off of my hands. I could hear Angela laughing as I walked away, looking down at the multicolored spots stained onto my palm mumbling, "Yeah, 'melts in your mouth, not in your hands' my ass."

I gave up trying to will the spots away and pushed open the heavy glass door to the studio.

"She finally graces us with her presence," Emmett greeted with a goofy smile.

"Yeah, my standards can't get much lower, Em. What do you need?" I responded in false offense, referencing his earlier words to Angela.

"Can't I just be happy to see my girl on this beautiful morning?" he said batting his eyelashes, voice dripping in faux sweetness.

"No," I quickly replied without removing the look of suspicion on my face, earning a laugh from Jasper, who was standing a few feet from Emmett, and Kate who was sitting behind the board for her shift. "I know you too well, you want something. You're never this excited to see me."

"Fine, fine. Maybe there is something you could do for me," Emmett said while thrusting a piece of paper in my hand. I looked it over seeing that it was the press release announcing the summer concert schedule at our venues that Angela and I had been discussing only a few minutes earlier. A dozen shows had been highlighted with yellow or green highlighters. I looked up, giving Emmett his cue to continue.

"These are the ones I need tickets for. You see, yellow I just need tickets. I'm not picky. But green, those ones I need the best seats you can get for me." I glanced up to see a look of pleading on his face.

"You do realize that your ID will get you into every one of these for free, right?"

He rolled his eyes at my statement of the obvious. "I have been around for awhile, I am aware of that. But you know these ones will sell out or come close to it and if we walk in on our station IDs we take whatever's open _if_ anything's open. I want a guaranteed seat. And for some of them, the green ones, I need good seats. Close seats. Count the nose hairs on the lead singer seats."

"Got a thing for rockers that you've never told me about, Em?" I teased.

"You're not as funny as you think you are." His face turned to pleading again, "Rosie will love me forever if you can hook me up on these ones."

"Only you would try and impress someone with free stuff that a girl could get on her own," I laughed at him, prolonging his torture. "I'll see what I can do. We haven't divvied up the comps yet, so I'll try and work my magic on which ones are staying behind for use here."

I was quickly swept up in a big hug with a big wet kiss planted on my cheek, "Thank you! I owe you one!"

I dramatically wiped away the saliva with the back of my hand after my feet touched ground again, "Yeah yeah, you always say that but never follow through."

I turned my attention to the other two. "So what's going on here? What's everyone up to?"

"Well, I'm trying to work and these two dipshits won't leave me in peace," Kate grumbled.

"View's too good from here. We don't want to miss the soap opera taking place out there," Jasper nodded to direct my attention down the hall. I followed his gaze until I stopped on a small crowd formed just down the way. A man I didn't recognize was standing with Jessica and Lauren. More accurately, it appeared that he was cornered by the pair. My view was partially blocked by the two as they tried to move closer and closer into his personal space, subtly competing with each other. His messy bronze hair and profile were all I could see but it was enough to back up Angela's earlier claims.

"It's the new guy, Edward," explained Jasper. "Lauren and Jessica haven't let him go for the past twenty minutes. He keeps trying to figure out an escape but so far, no such luck."

He and Emmett laughed at the poor guy's predicament as Emmett picked up where Jasper left off. "They started out down there," he said while pointing to a spot about ten feet from where the three were currently standing. "Every time he tries to end the conversation and get out, they latch on tighter and move in closer. He has backed away so many times that he has finally run out of room and has literally backed himself into a corner."

I listened to the two laugh while Kate mumbled things like "idiots" and "need to grow up, stupid Peter Pan syndrome" while paging down through the play log on the computer screen in front of her. I couldn't tear my attention away, it was the sort of train wreck we were used to seeing from these two but it never got old.

"So you guys decided to just let the poor newbie suffer it out on his own with the Wonderbra Brigade?"

At the new nickname, the two overgrown children howled with laughter. "Oh that's classic! I'm stealing that one, Jelly Belly." I wasn't sure how Emmett was able to speak through the belly laughs.

"Alright, everyone shut up! I'm going on air in 20 seconds. Zip it or get out!"

Emmett and Jasper quieted down, only a few small chuckles escaping. I pulled myself up to sit on the counter to Kate's left as she flipped the mic on to do her speed break, my legs dangling over the side as we watched the show going on outside the door. Kate pushed down on the button to turn her mic back off as the next song started and turned to see out the door. "You know, it never gets old watching them crash and burn. I'm going to be sad the day they finally give up."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. I don't think that day will ever come. They'll be the dirty old ladies copping cheap feels of the young men who help them get their groceries into the car when they're 90." I glanced at Kate and we both started laughing at mental image.

"Busted!"

Kate and I both turned our attention back to the door after Jasper's outburst to see the man giving a desperate and frustrated look in our direction. In what was an attempt to save face and make it appear as if he hadn't been leaving Edward to fend for himself for his own personal entertainment, Emmett opened the door and called out to him.

"Hey man, can you come over here? I need to talk to you about something."

The look of relief that flooded his face was obvious to everyone but Jessica and Lauren who each gave one last lingering touch to his arm and promises to see him around later as he quickly extricated himself from their entrapments and made his way over. The two girls headed off in opposite directions after shooting quick scowls in our direction for taking away their new toy.

He made his way through the door, head bent with one hand running through his hair, as if attempting to hide. Couldn't exactly blame him for trying given how he'd spent the better part of the past half hour. Jasper clapped him on the shoulder, "Sorry man, we should've warned you."

Edward laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Damn, they just don't take a hint, do they?"

"Subtle doesn't work with them," I informed him. His attention turned to me for the first time and my gaze was locked on the deep green eyes looking back. It was only a split second, but the effect was huge as if the earth had been knocked off of its axis. It took a lot of effort to turn my attention to Emmett when he snorted.

"Telling them flat out to fuck off doesn't work either."

Everyone laughing at Emmett gave me the perfect cover to laugh at myself. I internally rolled my eyes at my reaction, letting out a deep breath as my heart rate slowed back to normal just in time for Emmett to take initiative to introduce us.

"Bella, this is Edward. Edward this is Bella. She's the assistant to the General Manager and all around pain in my ass."

Our handshake broke as I turned to scowl at Emmett. "Oh, you're one to talk."

"What? I'm not the one that steals people's cars."

"I didn't _steal_ your car. I moved it."

"You moved it to another garage!"

Our voices were getting progressively louder and I could hear the snickers from our audience as Emmett and I continued our stare down. My eyes narrowed at him and I cocked one eyebrow up as he puffed his chest in a show of dominance. I could hear Edward ask Jasper, "Is it always like this?"

"Worse."

"I swear, you'd think they were brother and sister the way they bicker and fight all the time," Kate added.

Emmett was the first to break our silence. "Stole it."

I held my hands up in front of me as I responded. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who suspended my desk from the ceiling?"

Emmett's attention was drawn to my hand as he grabbed my wrist and pulled it closer for inspection.

"What the hell is this?"

I yanked my hand back to see what he was talking about. "M&M's."

"I thought they were supposed to melt in your mouth and not in your hands?"

"False advertising."

I had nearly forgotten that we weren't alone when Edward spoke up. "You should sue."

I traced the stains with my pointer finger, maintaining the deadpan tone of the conversation. "I'm thinking about it. Just waiting for my attorney to return my call."

My laugh finally broke through as Kate mumbled, "I work with morons," before shooing us all out so she could do her break before the spot block.

I slid off of the counter and we all stepped outside the glass doors and into the hallway. Emmett finally got me into a headlock, pulling me into his chest. "Lunch at noon, ya in?"

I attempted to push away but it was no use. Instead, I used my limited field of vision to keep my legs moving as we walked down the hallway. "No can do. I have a lunch meeting with one of the reps from William Morris."

"Aro?" he asked, finally releasing me.

I ran my fingers quickly through my now mussed up hair. "Yep."

"Watch out for that dirty old man," he warned, teasingly.

"I can't help it if he loves me. Everyone does." I shrugged nonchalantly then gave him a big goofy grin and batted my eyelashes just as we stopped outside my office door. Jasper rolled his eyes at our banter while Edward watched on with a crooked grin that turned my legs into Jell-O.

Pinching my cheeks and speaking to me as if I were a child, Emmett retorted, "It's because you're so damn loveable."

I playfully pushed him away as I opened my door. "Get off me, you freak."

Turning back to the trio before they continued down the hall, I called out, "See you guys later! Edward, it was nice meeting you."

Emmett and Jasper both threw a hand in the air to wave without looking back while Edward turned with a smile, "You too, Bella. I'll see you around."

I dropped my purse into an empty chair just inside the door as I made my way behind the desk. Absentmindedly, I flipped through the stack of mail that I had picked up from my desk as I sat down. I leaned down to power on the computer before turning my attention back to the mail and started opening each piece. In the quiet of my office, I found myself beginning to analyze my reaction earlier. While it wasn't a completely foreign reaction, it was something I hadn't felt in quite some time and to be honest it was considerably stronger than any other time I could recall. I shook my head, berating myself for getting so caught up in my thoughts.

_It's not like you haven't seen a gorgeous man before._

I couldn't figure out what it was about him that made me feel so off kilter. Looking back, the situation could have been very awkward and it disturbed me that I felt that way. I wasn't the most extroverted person in the room, but I wasn't exactly socially stunted either. I was thankful that I could always count on Emmett to be a distraction because I had a feeling that had I met Edward one on one I would've frozen. I felt bad for not speaking to him all that much, but the teasing from Emmett allowed me to just be myself rather than retreat into my head as I overanalyzed everything as I was prone to do.

His voice I had heard before, obviously. His air checks were fantastic and we knew he'd be a great fit with our stations. Even his conversational voice was impressive in that quick introduction we'd had during that conference call. I had tiptoed into Peter's office to leave copies of the offers I had sent out that day before heading out to a meeting with the designer to once again go over new seats for the theater renovation. Peter interrupted their discussion for a moment to "introduce" us. We spoke for just a minute, the three of us, before I had to head out the door and I couldn't ignore the fact that his voice piqued my curiosity. One thing learned quickly in radio, though, is to never make assumptions about what a person may look like based on the sound of a voice.

Maybe that's why my reaction was what it was? Simply that the combination of inhumanly gorgeous and a dead sexy voice threw me off. Yes. That had to be it. Eye candy was just that, eye candy. Nobody expected anything beyond something to look at, right?

Pleased with my conclusion, I shoved the mail aside and entered my login information into the computer. I had just enough time to check for urgent emails before changing my clothes for lunch. Casual the standard in this office, so I had to keep a couple more professional ensembles on hand for meetings such as this afternoon's.

Seeing nothing in my inbox that required my immediate attention, I made my way to the small closet in the corner of my office to grab the suit that had been dropped off from the dry cleaner's just yesterday. I reached for the bag of supplies at the bottom of the closet and headed into my private bathroom to change. I stripped down to my underwear before pulling on the pantyhose, followed by the skirt and camisole. I quickly took a brush to my hair. I pulled it into a low ponytail in one hand before twisting it up and clipping it into place, allowing a few pieces to fall out and frame my face. After a light coating of makeup to touch up and a quick spray of perfume to cover up any lingering construction smells that may have latched on during this morning's tour, I grabbed the jacket and headed barefoot back into my office. I picked up my heels, placing them next to the door as I laid the jacket on the chair with my purse. I moved back behind my desk and picked up the phone, dialing into my voicemail box.

After clearing my voicemails, I sat back in my chair. My mind wandered back to this morning's reaction yet again, without my permission. I was beginning to frustrate myself, angry at myself for acting like I was back in junior high school with my first real crush.

A crush? Was that what this was?

I grumbled to myself at how quickly my earlier rationalization had crumbled. Now was simply not the time for something like this. Bad timing was an understatement of epic proportions. My professional life kept me busy enough already, and my personal life had no room for any more distractions.

I looked up at the picture on my desk, pulling the frame a little closer. My fingers slowly traced the face that stared back at me. The smile in front of me made me smile involuntarily in return. I couldn't afford to screw anything up.

Resolved, I pushed back from my desk and headed over to the door. I slipped on my shoes as I pulled the suit jacket on, buttoning the three buttons before grabbing my purse and heading out the door.

These types of lunches were practically unnecessary and served mainly as an excuse to socialize. It wasn't something I could complain about though as the friendly conversation had led to many wonderful working relationships.

Fresh out of college, I had been working for an entertainment buyer on the east coast. The owner took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. When I interviewed, my job was primarily administrative, but he wanted me to understand fully what the business entailed and invited me to a similar lunch so that I could better understand the relationships that made his business the success it was.

I was nervous and way out of my league and therefore very quiet once introductions were made. I took the opportunity to watch and learn. I had expected serious discussions with numbers being passed back and forth until contracts were hashed out. Instead, I found that the first thirty minutes through appetizers were spent with the two men catching each other up on their families. As the entrees were placed before us, discussion had shifted to work but still no mention of our primary purpose. Instead they laughed about office drama, changes in the industry and some gossip about the competition. As the time had passed, I had slowly opened up more, joining in their conversations and joking with them.

It wasn't until desserts were ordered that they really began talking business. I laughed internally at how it seemed like an afterthought, almost as if they realized they wouldn't be able to write off the meal until they mentioned something truly business related.

There were a few artists that we were interested in booking and I had spent the week going over Pollstar records and our own historical data to analyze ticket sales, profits and asking prices. I had written up a report two days prior for my boss to look over in preparation for this meeting. I listened as he mentioned the artists as well as the time frames we were looking at but was shocked when he turned the rest of the discussion over to me. His encouraging smile was all I needed as I picked up where he left off, comparing the information I had compiled to the stats of our local market. The rep gave me his full attention, asking questions when he had them and listening intently as I elaborated.

There was a long silence once I was finished as the rep pondered everything I had laid out for him. My heart was beating out of my chest as the quiet slowly allowed for the realization to hit that just months out of college I had been handed the responsibility of making what would potentially be a multimillion dollar deal. A wide grin spread on the rep's face as he clapped me on the shoulder while looking at my boss and saying, "I think I might have to steal this one away from you. She knows her stuff. Fax over the offers to my office ASAP and we'll get started on the contracts."

That was six years ago and the rep was the same one greeting me with a hug as soon as I stepped into the restaurant. It always felt like I was dealing with a long lost uncle rather than a business associate. The working relationship we had developed was a model that I attempted to recreate with as many of my contacts as I could. For the most part, I was successful in creating this type of friendship although there's always a few that keep their distance. Peter liked to tease that I used the whole sweet and innocent routine to draw them in and sucker them into doing whatever I asked, especially the men. I argued that it was simply that if you felt like you were dealing with a friend, you were more willing to work with them and give them the best deal to keep the business relationship healthy.

Our lunch followed the same pattern as that initial one six years ago and before I knew it I was back in my office, and more importantly back in my jeans, pulling up the template I kept on my desktop to write out the offers. By the time I worked through my pages of notes it was time to leave. I quickly packed up my things and shut down my computer. Turning out the lights and locking the door behind me, I headed out for the night. I had big plans with the most important person in my life.


	2. Meet Edward

**Again, not mine. And another big thanks to PTB!**

**A quick note about a couple terms that come up in this chapter. The word "jock" refers to a DJ/disc jockey, not some big burly linebacker. Jock is used most often around radio stations (at least the ones I've worked for) and when people there refer to DJs or DJing, it refers more to DJing at clubs and bars, weddings, dances, etc. This word will probably come up often since that's how I've referred to people on the radio for more than a decade and do it without thinking.**

**Another that may come up a couple times is a Marti Unit. I'm not going to get technical, but it's this portable device that is set up when jocks broadcast away from the studios. They are used when the broadcast is relatively close, otherwise a cell kit is used. When you see a radio station broadcasting from stores, car dealerships, etc. they're using the Marti or Cell Kit.**

**Oh and voice tracking is radio's dirty little secret. That voice you're hearing live on the radio might not be live. It's just a fancy name for recording breaks. Thanks to computers, this is really easy to do. I can do a four hour shift in 15-20 minutes. Related to that, I mention cyber jocks in this chapter. Corporate radio is fond of using them. These are people who are based in one city and record shifts for one or more other cities. The company pays a salary for one person, giving them a small pay raise to take on additional stations, and they can cut the full time salary and benefits of the local jock. You really can't tell since they can look up local info online in addition to whatever info the PD of the stations send them. This is different from syndicated shows, but I won't get into that. **

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**EPOV**

I kept my eyes closed, refusing to acknowledge that I was awake and trying desperately to convince myself that I was still sleeping. It didn't work.

I had been tossing and turning since five this morning and one look at the clock told me it was just after six. For an hour I did nothing but lay in this unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar city.

I was used to waking up early for work, so add that to a new time zone and my internal clock was all sorts of screwed up. I had only arrived in town two days ago. If I had been smart, I would have left Chicago earlier to allow myself time to acclimate to a new city before diving right into work. I was in such a hurry to move on, however, that the moment I was free to leave my old job, I just wanted to get out and get started on a new phase of my life, putting the last couple years behind me.

That place, the previous radio station I worked for, was such a toxic environment that I found myself changing because of it. Each day I was growing more and more bitter, angry and suspicious. It seeped into every aspect of my life. By the time I left for the day, I had hit my limit dealing with people and their drama and the last thing I wanted to do was voluntarily be around other people and _their_ drama. I had completely closed off which wreaked havoc on my personal life.

I knew I had to get out of there before the place imploded around itself, taking me with it. Friends I'd had for years, I could no longer trust. It was every man for himself, everyone scrambling to save their jobs. I hated the games that we were expected to play if we wanted to stay around. I hated that what had once been a relaxed but productive work environment had turned into junior high all over again all because of one man. Fucking James.

The guy was an idiot. He didn't have the faintest idea how to run a radio station, but unfortunately he knew how to kiss ass and keep climbing the ladder. He walked in and from day one, everything shifted. He didn't have to say a word. Everyone knew that if you wanted to stick around you needed to figure out his agenda and adapt yourself to it. The staff immediately split into two groups: the more established employees who had the history behind them to prove their value to the company and the desperate hangers on that loved the idea of only being required to go out for a beer a few nights a week to maintain job security.

It didn't take long for us to realize that history and work ethic had no value with James. In fact, the better you were the bigger the threat you were. I had heard him joke more than once that he liked to hire idiots because it made him look smarter by comparison. It was clearly not just a joke when he started firing top sales people and replacing them with 20/20's – twenty years old, twenty thousand dollars. Any department where he could slash costs to increase his end of year bonus was at risk. It didn't matter to him that those higher paid sales people were earning their checks by selling large blocks of airtime whereas his new collection of drinking buddies couldn't make quota even after he lowered their requirements.

He didn't stop in Sales. By the end of the first year, on air staff had been slashed in half in favor of cyber jocks, one third of the administrative staff had been let go and the remaining forced to take on additional workloads. Disposable coffee cups were now under lock and key to be used only when the corporate big shots visited and even paper cones at the water cooler was cut from the budget.

We no longer had sufficient promotional budgets, equipment was rigged together rather than replaced when necessary, and our numbers were falling rapidly: numerical evidence of the fuck-up that was James.

I lasted as long as I could, hoping that corporate would see that he wasn't working out and things needed to change. But, like I said, he's a pro when it comes to kissing ass and managed to disguise his failures as simply victims of the failing economy.

I eventually started searching for other options. I held out for awhile, waiting for something to open up at another station in Chicago but with so many having already been let go from our stations, every potential opening had been filled by those already dismissed by James. I knew I had to branch out, had to start looking in other regions, and once I accepted that it didn't take long for me to realize that a clean slate was exactly what I needed. If I had stayed back there, I still would have been subjected to the stories. This industry tended to have that feeling of being stuck in a small town, where everyone knows everyone's business and they enjoy nothing more than sitting around dissecting it all. Had I stayed, it wouldn't have ended. I wanted to wipe my hands of it all, not even willing to deal with it through second or third hand stories.

I hadn't been searching for long when I came across the opportunity here in Seattle. For about a month I had been keeping an eye on various trade magazines, papers and websites for openings and calling up some of my contacts to let them know I was looking and to give me a heads up if they hear anything. It was one of those contacts that pulled through for me in a big way. He called me back not even a week after I had initially spoken to him to let me know that one of his buddies that ran a group of stations in Seattle was looking for a new PD to oversee two stations and that he had already put in a good word for me. Within minutes of hanging up the phone, I had burned a copy of my air check to disc, printed out my resume and was walking out the door, headed to the post office to overnight the package.

The next few weeks went by in a blur. Within days of sending my resume, the General Manager, Peter, had called and spent an hour asking me about myself, my experience and my goals. It didn't feel like an interview at all, more like old friends catching up. For the first time in a long time, I was hopeful. He called back on Thursday of that week and offered me the position. The happiest day of the past two and a half years was that following day when I was able to walk in and turn in my letter of resignation.

Those final two weeks flew by, although James tried his best to make it hell. The harder he tried, the more I enjoyed myself. Sure, he wanted to get rid of anyone that didn't play his game but he wanted it to be on his own terms. The fact that I was able to get out before I was forced out bothered him more than he was willing to admit. I walked out on my last day practically fucking giddy with a smile on my face, contrasting nicely with James' scowl.

I had already emptied my apartment and broke the lease well before that last day. In fact, I started packing that night after Peter's call to let me know the job was mine. I packed what I was taking with me, donated most of the rest and stored a few things with my parents where I would be staying for a few days before starting the drive west.

The drive was relaxing. The solitude served to give me the opportunity to strip away the stress and anxiety that had plagued me for too long. With each mile I put behind me I could feel the tension ease, my head clear and my outlook brighten. By the time I made it to Seattle, I felt like a completely different person. As much as I hated that I had woken up well before my alarm, I was still excited to start my day, my new life.

I tried to take it slow getting ready, knowing I had plenty of time before I needed to meet Peter. By the time I made it through my routine, I still had an hour to kill. I hadn't really done any shopping yet, picking up just a few necessities at a nearby store on my first night in town, so I opted to head out and grab something to eat on my way to work. I took my time with breakfast, paying my bill with fifteen minutes to spare as I headed down the block to the office building I'd scoped out yesterday.

Stepping off of that elevator, I didn't feel the nerves that usually come along with starting new jobs. I had been speaking to Peter for weeks and I could tell that, although professional, he was an easygoing guy. After he called to tell me the job was mine if I wanted it, we continued to touch base regularly. We spoke on the phone every couple days and exchanged emails regularly. He wanted to fill me in on the office dynamic to make the transition easier. I couldn't wait to get here after dealing for too long with the office politics at my station in Chicago.

I was greeted by the receptionist, Angela, almost immediately. "Good morning. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to meet with Peter this morning. My name's Edward Cullen."

Her friendly smile never wavered. "He just stepped out to head down to Sales. He asked me to page him when you got here, just give me a second. You can have a seat if you'd like." She pointed at a row of chairs just before picking up the phone to call Peter.

Instead of taking a seat, I began looking around as I waited. Very few office doors were shut. Most, it seemed, preferred to keep their offices wide open in invitation for their coworkers to stop by. The layout of the space that was visible from the reception area was very open, giving the place a very comfortable, casual feel. I could see people stopping to chat on their way from one place to the next. Even at eight in the morning, they greeted each other with smiles as they laughed and joked, talking about their weekends or what the week ahead held in store for them. This was what I missed having spent the past couple years at a place that was slowly disintegrating with no signs of turning around - this sense of camaraderie and feeling like you're surrounded by friends.

A few minutes later, Peter stepped out of the stairwell in the corner and introduced himself to me with a firm handshake, apologizing for the delay. "Sorry about that. Had to go downstairs and take care of some things in Sales. Let's show you around."

Our first stop was the studios. Peter introduced me to all of the morning jocks, spending a bit more time at the stations I'd been hired to oversee. Our final stop led to my introduction to Emmett and Jasper, cohosts of the morning show that I would be joining at the start of next week. We instantly fell into a comfortable conversation during a block of songs. I felt like I had known these guys forever. We had an instant rapport that would make working with them each day fun and effortless.

When they went back on air, Peter and I excused ourselves as he showed me around the rest of the floor and introduced me to people as we passed by. He showed me the production rooms and I couldn't help but start playing with buttons and controls as everything looked brand new and top of the line. I had spent too long working on equipment held together by duct tape and a prayer. Peter laughed at my 'kid in a candy store' reaction, as he called it, and patted my on the shoulder as we headed back out to make our way down to the other floor.

The bulk of this floor was dedicated to the Sales department. I noticed a number of cubicles set up and a handful of private offices. Peter explained that the sales teams were broken up in the banks of cubicles. Sales managers claimed some of the offices while the rest were dedicated to the Promotions department, IT department, Human Resources, and mail and copy room. This floor was much emptier than the upper floor due to the fact that most of the salespeople were already out with clients. We moved down a hallway as Peter pointed out the conference rooms where I'd be required to attend department head meetings every other Monday.

We headed back upstairs and Peter directed me to his office, pointing more things out along the way. We had already taken care of all of my new hire paperwork while downstairs in the Human Resources office, but he still had a few things for me. He directed me towards a chair just inside the door as he reached for a small pile of items on his desk. He returned, claiming the chair next to mine and started going through everything. Twenty minutes later I was walking around with keys to my office, a parking pass for the garage and an ID that would get me into any of the company's venues, and headed back towards the studios where I was to meet up with Emmett who would show me the ropes. He had taken over temporarily after the previous PD walked out a month earlier. Apparently he had been offered the position but politely turned it down, preferring the work he was already doing in continuity and the morning show.

I had just turned into the hall leading back to the studios when I was stopped by two of the women from Sales that I had been introduced to downstairs. I managed to slip away quickly earlier, but clearly they weren't going to allow that without Peter here this time to act as a deterrent. Part of me was horrified while the other was amused at their brand of flirting. It almost seemed like they were going through a mental checklist of every stereotypical flirting technique, trying to outdo each other.

Each time I tried to make my escape, though, they moved in closer. I took a step back, they took one forward. Between the two, they had me pinned and I was stuck unless I wanted to channel my inner five year old and plow between them like I was in the middle of an intense round of red rover. This being my first day, however, I didn't think knocking two women on their asses would be the best impression to make regardless of how appealing the idea was to me. Instead, I searched past them for an escape of any kind. I was actually scared for a moment when my back hit the wall. This couldn't end well. I glanced to my left and could see a couple faces looking out of the studio door. Relief washed over me as Emmett called for me from the door. Keeping my head down, I made my way over as quickly as I could.

In my hurry to escape, my brain didn't register who all was in the room when I started joking about my near capture in the hall. I recognized the voice immediately from the brief introduction on the phone just two weeks ago. However, I wasn't prepared for the sight of her. I was pretty sure I was frozen the moment our eyes locked and don't even recall breathing. I snapped back to reality when her attention was drawn to Emmett. I could have hugged him for giving me an excuse to touch her, even if it was just a handshake during a standard introduction. Her small hand fit perfectly in mine, making me want to grasp it tighter to pull her off the counter and into my arms to see if the rest of her fit against me just as ideally.

I snapped out of that fantasy when she pulled her hand from mine to start arguing with Emmett. The two squabbled, completely oblivious to their audience, giving me a prime opportunity to observe her. The way she carried herself showed me that she was someone who was comfortable with herself. She seemed confident, funny and kind. For a moment I felt jealousy creeping up, wondering if the two were together but the way they carried on implied a close friendship instead. At least, I hoped that was all it implied. She clearly enjoyed tormenting Emmett, and he her, but you could tell that the two were extremely close and most likely very protective of one another. I imagined she was just as fiercely protective of all of her friends and loved ones. It was something I found especially refreshing after years of backstabbing back in Chicago, having no one on your side.

I couldn't help but compare her with my recent encounter with the two salesgirls. Everything about them screamed 'trying too hard' from their clothes to hair to caked-on makeup. The noxious blend of their perfumes was still burning my nostrils. And then here in front of me was a girl who was beautiful without trying. Her mahogany hair lay in soft waves, probably having had minimal time spent on perfecting it. Light makeup only accented the natural beauty of her face. Even her jeans, fitted tee and pair of black ballet flats were more alluring than the painted on dresses that the other two sported. The giggling I had been subjected to in the hall nearly gave me a tic, but the laugh that finally cracked her deadpan delivery during the M&M discussion was divined from Heaven.

I wanted desperately to spend more time with her and found myself momentarily excited as we walked through the halls and Emmett invited her to the lunch we'd planned earlier this morning. Regrettably, she already had plans. I tried to hide my disappointment but I think Jasper may have caught it. His gaze was focused on the ground a few steps ahead of where we were walking, but I was pretty sure that just moments before he had been watching me as I watched Emmett drag Bella down the hall in a headlock. The smirk on his face that he wasn't trying too hard to hide was a dead giveaway.

When stopped outside Bella's office, I didn't want to leave but could think of no legitimate reason to stay. I knew that I needed to follow Emmett so I could start figuring out how things worked around here so I said my goodbye to her, promising to see her around. I could only hope for the opportunity to get to know her better. Immediately, my mind tried to come up with excuses for needing to speak to her later on.

Eventually, we wound our way through the halls until we came to a large shared office. Emmett pointed me to the largest desk in the room, sitting in a back corner by the window. The other desks, he explained, were for the jocks to come and go, researching show prep, checking their emails, getting ready for remotes, and anything else they needed to do outside of the studio. Jasper stuck around for a few more minutes chatting before heading across the hall to the continuity office he shared with Emmett so he could get started working on a backlog of work that had been left behind by the sales department.

We spent the next hour setting up my office. Emmett called and had someone from IT come in and set up my desktop and email. While that was being taken care of, he and I headed over to one of the production rooms to play around with the equipment in there. I had to learn a whole new system from the one I had been using in Chicago. It seemed pretty simple, just another Windows-based automation program, but I still had to get used to the layout of it. I had a week before I had to go on air so I planned to spend a good bit of time each day just messing around in production until I knew where every feature of the program could be found.

Around lunch time, Jasper popped his head in as Emmett and I were laughing at some bits he had pulled up for me to listen to. Some were failed takes at recorded breaks that had been deemed too funny to delete while others were a "greatest hits" of sorts of the morning show to give me an idea of what I could expect when I got on air next week. Emmett logged out of the computer as the last bit finished and we made our way out to the elevator.

We had just stepped into the lobby at the bottom floor when Emmett was accosted by a blonde glamazon.

He picked her up when she jumped into his arms, giving her a quick kiss. I realized my earlier assumption that his interaction with Bella was that of good friends was right on. Good for me.

"Hey baby, we're heading to lunch. You coming?" She nodded as Emmett continued, "Where ya been all morning?"

She pulled herself back together and moved out of the way so that she wasn't blocking the flow of traffic to and from the elevator. We all began walking towards the doors and headed outside.

"Had a meeting across town with a potential client that lasted a little longer than I was expecting," she said with a smile that lit up her face.

"I'm guessing by that grin that it went well?" Jasper asked her.

"You know it!" she laughed. "It was that new luxury dealership. They didn't know what hit 'em. The manager came out with this attitude when I started discussing different things we can do, demographics we can target. He flat out asked me what I personally knew about _his_ cars and _his_ clients," she had a mocking tone of condescension as she quoted the manager. "He wanted to know why I thought I knew his clients, his target audience, well enough to sell to them."

Emmett and Jasper both started laughing and Jasper leaned over to me to fill me in on the joke. "Rosalie's biggest pet peeve is for a man to take one look at her and assume she's a stereotypical helpless woman who doesn't know anything about cars and sports."

"Damn right," she nodded at his assessment.

Jasper continued, "And one of her favorite hobbies is to make those men look like idiots when she emasculates them and proves she knows more than them."

"Hell yeah, someone's gotta knock them down a peg or two." I had to laugh at her boldness. She must have realized that she didn't know me and took the opportunity to introduce herself. "Sorry, I'm Rosalie. I work in Sales."

I pulled her extended hand into a handshake. "I'm Edward, new PD."

We broke the handshake as we entered the small restaurant just down the block from our building. The hostess led us to our seats and handed us our menus as Rosalie continued with her story.

"So anyway, after this douche's challenge I walked right over to the floor and started spouting off details about each car in the showroom. After about 20 minutes of rattling off specs, I finally walked back to his office and he followed behind me with his tail tucked between his legs. I turned it around and looked at him and said, 'Why do I think I know your target audience? Because I _am_ your target audience.' He stuttered for a minute before he gave up and bought a shitload of airtime and scheduled a few remotes."

"That's my girl!" Emmett said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

After celebrating her victory by holding her glass of water in the air in a mock toast to herself, she turned to me.

"So, Edward, how do you like it here so far?"

I placed my menu on the table in front of me. "I think I'm going to like it. The city and the station are big changes from Chicago, but that's a good thing. A very good thing. So far everyone seems nice, very friendly."

Rosalie snorted, "Some _friendlier_ than others, I'm sure."

Emmett started laughing and leaned into her. "Jessica and Lauren already cornered him this morning. You missed the show."

"You poor, poor thing," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder in fake sympathy, trying to stifle her laugh. "Here's a tip. Their twisted little minds can interpret anything as flirting, so be careful. Avoid eye contact. Try not to smile in their direction. And don't even think about complimenting either one of them, no matter how small you think the compliment is or they'll be ready to haul you down to Tiffany's to go pick out rings."

"I . . . uh. . . thanks?" I hoped she was joking but something told me she wasn't.

She laughed at the look of horror that I'm sure was frozen on my face. "Anytime."

The rest of lunch passed quickly. I hadn't laughed that much in a long time as I listened to them telling stories about coworkers and each other. I noticed that many of their stories included Bella as well as Jasper's wife, Alice. I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice that there was an odd number in the group, seemingly everyone paired up except Bella.

They seemed like a tight group, almost like family rather than friends. They were already including me in some of their upcoming plans and I found myself thankful that they were trying to find a space for me in this group. It had been awhile since I'd had actual friends that I could spend time with without trying to figure out the ulterior motive behind it or filtering every word out of my mouth for fear I would say something that could be used to throw me under the bus.

Once they learned I had only been in town a couple days and hadn't seen anything besides what was outside my car window on the drive in or between my apartment and the office, they took it upon themselves to play tour guide. We made tentative plans to spend the weekend together so they could introduce me to their city.

We made our way back to the office once we paid for lunch. Rosalie left us at the Sales floor, Jasper headed back to his office, and Emmett and I went back to the production room we had occupied earlier.

We spent the next couple hours working on some promos for the morning show. Emmett had created some generic teasers to promote my addition but I could lend my voice now that I was here to make them a little more specific.

Toward the end of the day, Emmett and I headed back to the now abandoned studio. The afternoon jock was on vacation and had his shifts voice tracked, leaving the studio open for us. Emmett was in the middle of showing me where the Marti units were wired into the board when he looked up and waved someone in. I looked up to see Bella walking past, seemingly on her way out for the day. It looked as though she only intended to wave goodbye when Emmett had motioned for her to stop in.

"Headed out already?" Emmett asked as she pushed the door open and leaned on the frame with her arms crossed, holding the door ajar with her left foot.

"Yep, big plans this evening," she said with a laugh. "Try not to envy me too much."

He joined in laughing with her at what I could only guess was some inside joke. "Oh that's right – I forgot that was tonight. Try and keep your panties off the stage."

She rolled her eyes, "I don't think that'll be a problem." She turned her attention to me and smiled. "So, how was the first day?"

"Pretty good. I think I made the right decision coming here."

"Good, I'm glad." She smiled, and there was a small pause as we both refused to let go of the eye contact we had made in that short exchange. Finally, she broke the gaze with a sigh and looked at Emmett. "I guess I better be going before Max has my ass for being late."

"Yeah, just don't let him try and wander home with a younger chick again tonight," Emmett yelled out just as she moved her foot from the door to allow it to close.

She let out a huge chuckle before saying goodbye just as the door shut completely, sealing out all sound. which unfortunately included her melodic laugh.

That final exchange left me feeling uneasy. Was this Max her boyfriend? I struggled to search back through all the conversations I'd had throughout the day where she had been mentioned but could not think of a single mention of a Max that was connected to her, or any guy for that matter. Of course it was silly for me to think that a girl like her wouldn't already be taken. She was beautiful, intelligent, funny, caring. I suppose it was good to find out now that I had no chance before I got my hopes up.

I looked over at Emmett who had a small smile on his face as he lightly laughed while shaking his head, seemingly from the memory of whatever story went along with their joke. I struggled with myself for what seemed like minutes when in reality it must have only been seconds. I attempted to find a way to nonchalantly ask the question that was burning in my mind but that was blown the second my filter decided to stop working and I blurted out, "So, who is Max?"

The smile never left Emmett's face as he responded. "Max," he started, a thoughtful look crossing his face as if trying to decide how best to explain. "Max is the reason Bella doesn't date."

I furrowed my brow, more confused than ever. Taking pity on me, Emmett elaborated. "Max is her son."


	3. A Little Background

**EPOV  
**

For the second morning in a row, I was awake well before my alarm was set to go off. I didn't bother to try and fall back asleep; I knew would be impossible. My mind was in overdrive.

I had tossed and turned for hours before finally succumbing to exhaustion sometime well after midnight. I couldn't turn my brain off, it kept revisiting all of the information I had taken in during the day. The professional in me wished I had simply been absorbed in the new job and new expectations that came with it but my responsibilities at work never crossed my mind once last night. Instead, I was obsessing on every piece of information I had learned about her; about them.

To say that Emmett caught me off guard would be an understatement. In all the scenarios my mind had constructed in that relatively short period of time between first hearing the name Max and learning who he was, not once had I considered that she may have had a son. The game completely changed with that one word.

I wasn't about to try and fool myself. I knew I was completely infatuated already. I had accepted it almost immediately. Never before had I felt that kind of pull to anybody in my life. It both thrilled and terrified me, the combination making it all the more exhilarating.

I found myself seeking her all day. Each room I was in and every hallway I walked, my eyes searched for any sign of her. My ears were tuned, waiting to hear her voice or mention of her name. I wasn't picky - either would suffice. More than once, I found myself wondering how I could spend more time with her without looking like the creep that comes in on his first day and starts hitting on the first girl he sees. Finding myself included in her circle of friends almost immediately felt like the stars were aligning.

However, that one word, son, changed so much. It didn't change the way I felt. Strangely, it intrigued me even more. But I knew that I had to approach things more cautiously now. She wasn't just living her life for herself; she had someone else to think about first and that someone else would always be her priority.

After Emmett dropped his bombshell, he had continued speaking. It took a few seconds for me to recover and process the fact that he was still talking.

"_He's a great kid. She's done an amazing job raising him, especially since she had to do it all on her own." Emmett's face showed a combination of pride and anger, hinting that there was a story there and I desperately wanted to know what it was._

"_So the father's not around?"_

_I knew it was really none of my business, especially only knowing her for a matter of hours but I was curious and I couldn't control the questions that were spilling out of my mouth. _

"_Nah, the bastard's never even met the kid. She moved here after everything went to shit to be closer to family. He's thousands of miles away on the other side of the country. Hope to God he stays there too. They're better off without someone like that in their lives."_

_I didn't know how to respond. I mean, what could I really say? The silence dragged on for a few moments while the information processed. The anger faded from Emmett's face a bit as he continued._

"_She's tough though. She didn't let the situation get to her. She moved on, determined to be happy."_

_I finally spoke up. "Still, that had to crush her." The more I thought about what Emmett was saying, the more protective I started to feel towards her. I may not have known the story behind this guy, but I knew it took a special kind of asshole to have nothing to do with his child and the mother._

"_Oh, it wasn't easy. She had her breakdowns early on but she knew she'd made the right decision not to force the issue and just do it on her own. She put it all behind her and Max became her total focus."_

_The story Emmett was weaving was vague, leaving my imagination to fill in the holes. My mind settled on worst case scenarios and I had to ask._

"_It wasn't . . . abusive, was it?"_

_I could tell he could sense the trepidation in my voice and jumped in to reassure me. "No, no. Thank God. No, he was just an immature dickhead who refused to take responsibility."_

_I was instantly relieved but curious nonetheless. Silence passed again. I was still unsure where the line was but certain that I couldn't push too much further without crossing it. It seemed Emmett realized how close we were getting to that line as well._

"_It's not really my story to tell. She's not really secretive about it. She's fine talking about everything but still, it's her story. I'm sure if you stick around you'll hear it firsthand one day."_

_I nodded my head while staring at a spot on the counter in contemplation. "She seems like an amazing woman."_

_After a few seconds of silence, I could feel Emmett's stare. I slowly looked up to see a shit eating grin cross his face. I realized instantly that I had just given myself away. _

"_That she is," he laughed. "But you're going to have your work cut out for you."_

_My brow furrowed at his comment, unsure of what he was saying. This only caused him to laugh harder._

"_Don't think I haven't noticed the looks you two have been giving each other today. Or the way you pay just a little more attention when her name comes up in conversation. I know we're heading into chick territory here with this conversation, but I'm not blind. The two of you had an instant connection. Granted, it takes very little to make that girl blush but I've never seen a simple introduction bring one on."_

_Fighting the grin that threatened to take over my whole face at the idea that one of her closest friends claimed to me see that she reacted to me just as I reacted to her, I allowed my silence to serve as confirmation rather than verbalize what I had been feeling all day. It was enough to appease Emmett as he continued._

"_As I mentioned already, she doesn't date. That's what I meant by you having your work cut out for you."_

_Since there was no longer any use in hiding anything, I decided to take advantage of his openness. "This guy messed her up that much that she doesn't date at all?"_

_Emmett shook his head. "No, it has nothing to do with him. Like I said at the beginning, Max is the reason she doesn't date."_

_I was silent again, not sure what I wanted to ask next. This was completely new territory for me and I had no idea what to do. Luckily, Emmett took pity on me and elaborated._

"_We've all tried to get her to go out, but she always refuses. _Always_. She says Max is her priority, not her social life and that she's happy just being surrounded by friends. She doesn't want to feel like she's hiding dates from her son but at the same time she doesn't want to introduce him to random strangers who likely won't get past that first date. It's understandable to a point, but frustrating as hell when you know that she has to be lonely. Friends and family can only do so much for a person."_

"_So what should I do?" I wanted, _needed_, to know more – to know how to go about this. I had never felt so instantly drawn to a person before and I wasn't about to just back off and give up so quickly, especially if I had the support of her friends. Well, the support of one friend at least but I hoped Emmett served as representation of the whole group. It would make my life a lot easier to have them all on my side._

"_Talk to Alice." He started laughing before he continued, "You might need a translator, though, because the girl can give an auctioneer a run for his money when she's excited about something. And trust me; she'll be excited about this. She's the one that pushes Bella the most about meeting people."_

_We both laughed and I felt the tension that had been building in me over the course of this conversation begin to give way to hope. _

_Emmett sighed, and shook his head at himself. "Someone's going to come in and take my man card away from me for this matchmaking shit, but my advice is to just be her friend. You seem cool as fuck and I'm sure you'd end up part of our group anyway, but use it to your advantage. If you cement your place as part of our group, Max will get to know you like he knows any of us. That strips away her biggest defense against dating. You can take it from there, show her how you feel and how she could feel if she'd open up for once in her damn life."_

"_It's still not going to be easy," he warned. "She hasn't been on an actual date in years. She moved here when she was a few months along and hasn't been out once, so the obvious assumption is her last dating experience was the asshole. She has turned down every guy that's asked her out since Max was born."_

"_How old is he?" I asked. I found myself curious about him and not just because he was the key to her. He was a part of her, the person she loved more than anyone else. She had sacrificed so much for him. I knew he must be a special kid having been raised with that much devotion._

"_Three and a half. So that's what, over four years then since she's dated? Damn, I'm glad I'm not you!" He burst into a full belly laugh as he slapped me on the back. _

_I just chuckled lightly, giving him a half smile to show I wasn't offended, but my mind was going a million miles an hour over all of the information I had just been given. I thought to every girl I had ever dated and wondered if I would have put in the effort for any of them and realized that I probably wouldn't have. There wasn't a doubt in my mind, however, that I had to give it a try this time. There was something different, something special about her. I surprised myself when I realized that the fact she had a kid didn't scare me. This move was changing me even more than I thought._

_I knew that I would spend the rest of the evening alone, analyzing everything I had learned about her and what I needed to do so I changed the subject just a bit to keep myself from dwelling on everything in that moment. I still wanted to learn more but I tried to steer conversation away from the heavy stuff._

"_So what was that about her getting ditched for a younger girl?"_

_Emmett laughed again as he launched into the story, "So, last month we all took Max to Sesame Street Live."_

_I couldn't help but laugh already, "Wait, _you_ went to Sesame Street Live?"_

_Emmett tried to appear offended, "Yes, I did. Elmo kicks ass. You got a problem with it?"_

_I held my hands up in surrender as I shook my head, attempting unsuccessfully to stifle my laugh. "No. Please, continue."_

_He huffed once, "Yeah, so we're at Sesame Street Live and had just made it to our seats after the meet and greet."_

"_Meet and Greet?" my laugh intensified._

"_Yes, we took Max back to meet a couple of the characters. Do you want to hear the story or not?" His offense was clearly a mocking one. I pressed my lips together in a vain attempt to stop laughing before he resumed. "Anyway, we get to our seats and there's a family right next to us with a little girl about Max's age. We had a lot of time to kill since we had to be there early for the meet and greet."_

_He stopped and shot me a look to see if I was going to interrupt again at the repeated mention of their brush with puppet fame and I motioned for him to continue. "They played for close to an hour before the show started and stood up in front of us to watch together, dancing along with each other. By the time the thing was over, they decided they weren't ready to leave each other. Max had a full blown meltdown, he was begging to go home with this little girl so they could play together some more."_

We had spent that last little bit of the day before heading out talking. Most of that time was spent with Emmett telling me stories about Max and all the things they have done with him. I couldn't imagine a kid more loved than this one and understood Emmett's earlier comment about Bella and Max being better off without his father. This kid had a better support system than most kids with traditional families and the more I heard, the more I learned, the more I wanted to be a part of this group and do my part to protect and care for both him and his mother.

I rolled over to look at the clock to find I had been reliving that conversation with Emmett for nearly an hour. I groaned as I rubbed my hands over my face before rolling out of bed and began my morning routine so I could get out of the apartment and back to the station. I told Emmett before I left yesterday that I would be in around eight to sit in on the morning show even though it wasn't necessary. I wasn't going on air until next week, but hanging out in the studio with Emmett and Jasper would give me a chance to see how they worked together and would help me figure out how and where I would fit in. The shift ran from six to ten weekday mornings, and I had originally planned to take advantage of the opportunity to get extra rest while I could and only come in for the second half of the show. If only my internal clock would get the message about sleeping in.

At least next week should be an easy transition to make.

I made it to the office a few minutes before eight and said hello to Angela who appeared to just be taking her post at the reception desk as I made my way to the studio. I passed a number of familiar faces but unfortunately I had so many names thrown at me yesterday that I only remembered a few. They were all friendly though. I earned more hellos in that short walk down the hall than I had in the last six months at my old station.

The on air light went off just as I neared the studio door so I pushed it open and walked in. Emmett was sitting behind the board in the middle of the U-shaped desk talking to Jasper who was sitting on the other side of the counter to his right. Both had pushed their mics away from their faces.

"Ah, so we didn't scare you off yesterday?" Jasper joked.

"Almost, but I figured I'd give it one more chance before packing my shit and heading for the hills."

I moved over to the credenza against the wall by the door and leaned back against it, stretching my legs out in front of me, crossing them at the ankles as Emmett spoke up. "So, what'd you get up to last night?"

"Not much. I picked up some take-out on the way home and spent most of the night unpacking." I wasn't about to tell them I only made it halfway through one box and spent the entire night staring off into space thinking obsessively about Bella.

As the song neared its end, the two pulled their mics back into place and got ready to go back on air. I listened to their easy banter as they discussed the latest celebrity gossip and then took calls. They had a fantastic rapport with their listeners, pulling them into conversation as if they were lifelong friends just bullshitting over a beer rather than on the air, working.

A couple breaks later, Jasper got up and headed out of the room while Emmett did a solo break covering weather and some local news. Jasper came back into the studio a few minutes later with four cups, two balanced in each hand. He sat two of them down next to Emmett, who claimed one for himself and placed the second on the opposite counter next to the stack of show prep Jasper had been reading from earlier. Jasper brought the other two over my way, placing one that looked to be hot water on the credenza next to me and handing the second directly to me, filled with coffee.

"There's sugar and powdered creamer in that drawer." He pointed to the drawer in the credenza right next to me. "Real creamer is out in the fridge in the break room."

"Thanks, man," I replied, bringing the cup of plain black coffee to my lips.

"No problem," he said as he made his way back over to his chair at the other side of the room. Music was playing again, and we all fell back into easy conversation. They did one more longer break just before the :50 stopset and not even a minute after turning the mics off again the studio door opened and electricity filled the room.

Okay, so maybe it was just me that felt it.

I looked to my left just in time to see Bella walk in and drop her bags onto the floor next to the door. Emmett, always cheerful, yelled out a boisterous good morning to her.

"A little louder Em, I think there are a few people street level that didn't hear you," she grumbled and I silently chuckled at how cute it was. "Why are you always so chipper so early in the morning?"

"What the hell are you talking about Bells? It's almost nine."

"Exactly." Her one word response was apparently all the explanation she would offer. She clearly wasn't a morning person.

He laughed at her and she stepped closer to me. She moved the abandoned cup of hot water next to me and turned around so that her back was to the credenza. A quiet "morning" escaped her lips when she looked at me just before pulling herself up onto the flat surface and folding her legs underneath her.

I smiled at her as she opened the drawer that was now beneath her and grabbed a tea bag. She placed it in her cup, swirling it around by the string. I was mesmerized by this simplest of actions, completely overwhelmed by her proximity. Her light, fresh scent mixed with the mint of the tea overwhelmed my senses to the point that I felt like I couldn't get close enough even though her knee was only inches from my elbow. I wanted to lean closer, press my nose into her hair, against her neck, shoulder, wherever, just to get a better whiff of that intoxicating scent.

"So, how was the big date last night Bells?" Jasper asked with an evil grin.

She threw her head back and rolled her eyes as she sighed. "Oh God, what was I thinking? I'm going to have 'Big, Red Car' stuck in my head for the next week."

Jasper laughed as Emmett started singing, "Toot toot, chugga chugga, big, red car. . ."

He didn't make it any further than that before she nailed him in the side of the head with a small, plush, corporate logoed duck that had been sitting behind me.

"That's enough," she warned while we all cracked up as the duck bounced across the floor. "It's bad enough I caught myself singing it in the shower this morning, I don't need you to serenade me with it too." Shower? I had to fight the mental image trying to take over.

"Max have a good time, though?" Jasper inquired.

"Yeah, he had a blast. He didn't sit down the entire time. He was too busy dancing." She paused for a moment, a small smile crossing her face at the memory. "He decided he wants to be Captain Feathersword when he grows up."

"What the hell is a Captain Feathersword?" I blurted out. Luckily she didn't take offense, instead letting out a big laugh.

"Clearly you aren't around many pre-schoolers. He's a character from The Wiggles." She lightly elbowed me as she laughed.

"I thought he wanted to be Jack Sparrow when he grew up?" Emmett interrupted.

"I think at this point, any pirate will do. As long as he doesn't start asking me for an eye patch and a peg leg, I'm alright with it. Although, if he doesn't grow out of this phase I'll be concerned about the Captain Feathersword thing. It may be cute watching him run around with his plush feather sword now, but when he gets older it could be cause for concern. Captain Jack is clearly the superior choice for him to model himself after. He's just cool as hell. Who doesn't want to be like him?"

Emmett and Jasper went back on air while Bella pulled the tea bag out of her cup. She stretched across the credenza, leaning behind me to reach the trash can at the opposite end.

"Sorry," she whispered quietly so the mics wouldn't pick her up.

"Not a problem," I told her. Like there was any chance I would have had an issue with feeling her brush against my back, I internally scoffed. She smiled at my response as she pulled the drawer open again, this time pulling out a couple packets of Splenda.

A young blonde, most likely an intern, opened the door a crack and peeked in. She must have been looking for Bella because as soon as she saw her sitting there, she opened the door fully and stepped in. Bella reached over and took the papers from the girl's outstretched hand and whispered a thank you. The girl mouthed a 'you're welcome' back to her, giving me a glance and a quick smile before backing out the door. I nodded once in her direction, in greeting.

Bella was looking down at the papers in her hand when the music started again and Emmett and Jasper turned their attention back to us.

"Look at her. She acts like she doesn't have an office of her own, just comes in here every morning and takes over the place like she owns it." Bella looked up from the papers and glared at Emmett's fake scolding.

"You know my presence makes your day, Em. Don't try to deny it."

"Oh yeah, you're a ray of freakin' sunshine."

I burst into laughter when she flipped him off with her free hand, the other holding her cup near her mouth, and looked back down at the papers in her lap. Emmett pretended to ignore her, directing the conversation to me. "Yeah, look at her. Princess gets her shit hand delivered to her in here. They don't even bother checking for her in her office before ten."

I could see her shoulders shake occasionally, giving away her attempts to stifle her laugh while trying to not look up from her lap. I couldn't help but laugh at her utter failure of hiding it. I had a feeling Emmett was trying to pick up where he left off yesterday, feeding more information about her to me, this time about her daily routine. I think he knew that at that point I was thirsty for even the smallest details about her and I couldn't lie and say that the thought of spending an hour or so with her in this room every morning didn't excite me.

It was time for another break, so Emmett gave up harassing Bella to turn back around to his mic. I elbowed Bella's knee and quietly asked, "So, what do you have that's so interesting there?"

She tilted the papers toward me so I could see as she explained. "They're the reports from all of last week's shows at all of our venues. Accounting spends Mondays compiling all of the info and gets the reports out to me and Peter on Tuesdays. I'm just skimming through to see what worked and what didn't, make sure nothing looks out of place."

I looked over at the report, scanning it quickly, noticing that all the final totals were in the black. All of the shows were successes financially, a slight surprise given the current state of the economy and the downturn that the music industry was seeing all around. She was clearly doing something right. "So this is your area of expertise? Emmett mentioned yesterday that you focus mostly on the live entertainment."

I had to keep her talking. I had to hear her voice. I wanted to know everything about her and asking about her work was the safest place to start. As much as I knew I could get Emmett to tell me just about anything I wanted to know, it wasn't the same as hearing it from her directly.

"Yeah, I do spend most of my time working on live entertainment. Peter never really cared for it all that much. It was just something that he had to do, you know? It came with the job. When I started here, the bulk of my background was in live entertainment so we sort of made this natural split. I could take over the majority of the responsibilities when it came to the venues which allowed him to focus almost completely on radio, where his heart was. It wasn't even really planned, it was just sort of understood almost from the beginning that he would do his thing, I would do mine and everything would somehow mesh together." She stopped for a moment and laughed, "I'm not sure why it works, but it does."

I watched her as she spoke, completely enthralled with all of her mannerisms. I couldn't have kept the grin from my face if I had tried. I didn't realize that the only conversation going on in the room at that moment was ours, and it seemed neither did she, because we were both startled when Jasper called out to Bella once our conversation hit a lull.

"So Bells, have any plans this weekend? Edward here hasn't seen a damn thing in this city so we were thinking about playing tourist." The devious look on his face told me that either Emmett talked to him before I showed up this morning or I was correct yesterday in guessing that Jasper had realized something was going on with me.

She looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke, "You'll have to talk to Alice. I'm pretty sure she was planning to turn my kitchen into a salon on Saturday."

"Ah, yeah. She did mention something like that the other day. Well, we'll find out from her soon enough. She'll be here in a little while for lunch."

Bella instantly tensed, her eyes widened until I thought they would pop out of her head. She put her cup of what had to now be cold tea down and hopped off the counter as she yelled out, "Oh shit! Are you kidding me?"

She looked down at herself as Jasper laughed at her. "Nope, she'll be here in about an hour and a half."

At that, Bella ripped open the studio door and bolted down the hall. Emmett and Jasper were cracking up laughing, watching her retreating form as she sped down the hallway until she turned a corner and ran out of view while I just looked around in confusion wondering what in the hell just happened.

"Is there a reason that the mention of Alice makes her run like a madwoman? And should I be scared?"

Jasper chuckled as he answered. "Alice can be," he paused briefly looking for the right word before continuing, "intimidating when she wants to. She and Bella have been friends for years. They love each other to death but know how to get to each other. Alice's biggest pet peeve is Bella's sense of style."

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, thinking that she looked perfect the way she was.

"Nothing's wrong by most people's standards. But Alice isn't most people," Jasper went on to explain. "Bella lives for casual and for Alice casual is a dirty word. They constantly butt heads over clothes, shoes, accessories and all that other girly shit. Bella has learned how to play the game and tries to appease Alice when she can in order to avoid forced makeovers and shopping trips. In fact, I guarantee she's raiding her emergency stash in her office at this very moment."

"Emergency stash?" I questioned.

"Just wait, you'll see." Jasper laughed as he turned back to his mic moments before he and Emmett went back on air.

Fifteen minutes later, Emmett and Jasper were finishing up their last break. The door opened and again, I could feel the electricity before I could even see her. She stepped in with her head down, peering up from her lashes just as they turned the mics off and both started laughing hysterically. I looked at her new appearance as she walked back over to resume her earlier seat next to me and couldn't help but laugh a little too.

Shooting all three of us dirty looks, she mumbled, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up. And you!" she yelled, directing the glare to Jasper. "You could at least give a girl some warning."

The outburst only caused everyone to laugh harder at her and her new look. She had replaced her flats with a simple pair of heels, traded her fitted tee in for a camisole and tiny sweater, and she seemed to be wearing a little more makeup. It looked like her jeans were the only part of her outfit to survive.

She looked sheepishly at me and opened her mouth to speak but I interrupted, patting her on the back as I said, "No need to explain, Jasper already covered it."

Her smile broke through as she finally laughed along. "I'm sure it sounds strange, but trust me. Once you meet her, you'll understand my reaction perfectly."


	4. Hurricane Warning

**A huge thank you to Beans827 for diving into beta duties!**

**And a small note that I keep forgetting to mention. It's not a major detail, but in case anyone was wondering all the main characters are in their late 20's and early 30's. When I first started planning I had figured on the 27-32 range. It's one of those details that I didn't really want to write in (a "how old are you?" conversation just wouldn't be a good read) but I did want to share it. These are people who are well enough out of college and just beginning to really be established in their careers. They're all just past that entry level peon stage.**

* * *

**BPOV**

I sat in my office, staring at the computer screen. The intern that stepped in to pick up the stack of copying that needed to be completed by the afternoon probably thought I was immersed in my work due to the way I seemed oblivious to her presence. In reality, I couldn't say what I was looking at on the screen and I had been staring at it for twenty minutes. My mind was back in that studio an hour ago.

I realized as I was showering this morning that in order to salvage any dignity, I needed to go about my life as normal, serving two purposes. One, it would give me time to silently deal with the way I was feeling and get over it. By not allowing anything else to change, I could focus on getting my emotions under control and back to normal. And two, it would hopefully keep my friends off my back. If I started changing my routine to avoid potentially uncomfortable situations caused by spending over-thinking things every time I was near him, they would notice something was up and jump on it, forcing a dating intervention.

It didn't take long for my first test. I knew Edward wasn't going to be on air until next week, but I also knew there was a chance he would still be around the studio this morning. As is always my luck, because the fates enjoy screwing with me, he was planted comfortably just inches from my spot.

Every morning, excluding those mornings I had to be at one of the venues, I headed straight for the studio before going to my office. This routine began not long after I started working at the station. It started with me dropping by to say good morning or being waved in every now and then and it quickly turned into a daily routine. I would come in around nine and head straight for the studio where Jasper would have a cup of hot water waiting for me to fix my tea. I would then climb up onto the credenza and BS with the guys until their shift was over. I couldn't exactly change things up now, after years of doing the same thing every day, without raising suspicion so I forced myself to not react, head over to my spot and claim my seat just like every other morning. My seat that was now inches away from the one person I hadn't been able to get out of my mind since I first laid eyes on him yesterday morning. Now I had to sit nearly pressed against him, inhaling his earthy masculine scent with each breath, and not give any indication that my heart was beating out of my chest to the two insanely observant and vocal men just across the room. If I slipped up even once, neither of them would hesitate to comment. The odds were most definitely not in my favor this morning.

I refocused on the computer screen for a moment and my eyes glazed over again almost immediately. I was really starting to irritate myself with this inability to focus on anything besides _him_. If I wasn't thinking of him, I was thinking about the times I thought of him. It was all annoyingly cyclical.

However, if I was honest with myself, these feelings were exciting and I was enjoying the rush that his proximity was giving me. I had forgotten what a huge difference there was between finding someone attractive and actually _being_ attracted. It had been so long since anyone was able to make me feel that draw and that constant fluttering of my heart at just the thought of him. It was exciting and energizing.

But that was the problem. There wasn't space in my world for exciting and energizing. I had my life in order. Things were finally working smoothly and made sense with no more bumps in the road to throw me off. I didn't have the liberty to throw caution to the wind and act on a little crush. I didn't _want_ to.

At least, I didn't _think_ I wanted to.

Oh hell, of course I wanted to. I just shouldn't want to.

That was what made those same feelings absolutely terrifying. It had been so long that this might as well have been new territory for me. It was disconcerting to realize that the same feelings that give you an adrenaline rush can also make you more uncomfortable than you have felt in a very long time. Something about his proximity made me feel completely at ease and comfortable and yet, at the same time, that sense of comfort made me feel restless and uneasy. It was as if my subconscious knew that this had the potential to be very good or very bad and all the ways it could be bad pushed to the forefront of all thought processes.

My thoughts were in a complete jumble and had been for a full twenty four hours now. Was that really all it had been? How in the hell was I going to survive this with even a small amount of sanity intact?

I lightly pounded my forehead on my desk then pulled it back up. The last thing I needed was a red mark in the dead center of my forehead to try and explain away when Alice got here.

Oh God, Alice. She was going to be relentless.

I loved her to death, but she could make things so much more difficult than they needed to be. I knew I had to get myself under control before she got here. If she caught even the slightest hint of my inner turmoil, she would be all over it, forcing me to talk about it endlessly while she droned on and on about happily ever after.

As it was, I knew that the moment she realized there was a new single guy around that she would start plotting.

Wait, was he even single?

Damn, I was out of practice. I didn't even think to look for a ring. Wasn't that supposed to be the automatic first step in figuring it out?

Still, Alice would take one look at him and start scheming. And God help me if she picked up even the smallest sign that I found him more than moderately attractive. A force of nature wouldn't be able to stop her. I wouldn't be surprised if she had already started planning something. Surely Jasper would have at least casually mentioned a new person starting since he would be working so closely with him five days a week. That would be all the opening Alice would need before she was off and running. I was going to have to be proactive and shut her down at the first sideways glance she sent my way and I would just have to play it extra cool around her so as not to make this more awkward than it already was. I was barely hanging on dealing with my own internal dialogue; I didn't need her constant chatter sending me in a thousand other directions.

I looked up at the clock and noticed it was nearly time to head out for lunch. I grabbed a file full of receipts that needed to be turned into accounting and headed out the door. Walking down the hallway, I was called out of my daze when Emmett yelled out the production room door that he had propped open.

"Hey Jelly Belly, ready to go?"

"Almost. I just need to run this down to accounting." I waved the manila folder in the air as I continued walking and yelled out, "And stop calling me that!"

I turned the corner and dropped the folder off on the accounting manager's desk, knowing he would take care of it as soon as he got back from lunch, and made my way back to the production room. Emmett and Edward didn't hear my approach, too engrossed in the clips Emmett was playing. I leaned against the doorjamb for a minute, listening and watching. Okay, so maybe I was just taking in his laugh and enjoying the tingles it made me feel over my entire body while I could do so guilt-free and without an audience. I may have also been mentally cataloguing his entire appearance.

"You should play the failed takes from Jasper's remote a few months ago."

They both jumped, startled from not expecting anyone else to be there and a mischievous look crossed Emmett's face as he rubbed his hands together diabolically. I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to suppress the giggle that always accompanied even the memory of that clip. Poor Jasper's life had been a living hell since that clip was created. It will haunt him for years.

Edward looked over at me while Emmett searched the system for the clip. My eyes locked onto his warm green ones and I tried my best to not look too hard for meaning behind them. All I knew was that during moments like these, when our gazes connected, I had to make a conscious effort to breathe. I thought that crap was supposed to be involuntary?

"So, what's this clip we're looking for?"

The crooked smile on his face said he understood it had to be something good to elicit the reactions Emmett and I were unsuccessfully trying to hide.

I managed to restrain myself from laughing, but the smile couldn't be stopped. "Rosalie sold a remote to promote a touring production that did a couple nights here in Seattle last year and to this day I don't understand how he didn't get out of it, have them make Kate or someone else go instead. . ." I trailed off, prolonging the story while Emmett looked for the clip. "Not that he didn't try, but he did finally relent and go but refused to do the breaks live because he knew he'd flub them."

The crooked grin could easily be my undoing. "So where did he have to go?"

"A, um, popular Vegas male revue was in town." My laugh finally broke through, as did Edward's, just as Emmett found and cued up the clip.

Before playing it, he turned to expand on my explanation. "Yeah, so he recorded his breaks and we kinda didn't delete the failed ones as we went along . . . and there were a lot of failed ones. The promoters had given him a bunch of info they wanted him to use, and they involved some awkward phrasing for a straight man to pull off."

He hit play and Jasper's voice filled the production room, talking about "hot men" and "eye candy for the ladies" and a number of other safe for radio phrases to try and lure women out to see strippers. Each phrase was followed by cursing, grumbling and a request to start over. We made it through half a dozen failed attempts, the three of us in tears from laughing, when a voice interrupted.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. Am I ever going to live this down?"

We all turned to see Jasper's exasperated look which only caused us to laugh harder. He always tried so hard to pretend to be offended but we all knew better. Get enough drinks in him and he was the one laughing the hardest. Sober, his male ego forced him to stifle the laughs in favor of half-hearted offense.

"Can I ask why you don't just delete it from the system?" Edward asked between laughs.

"You don't think I've tried? They all have it burned to disc and this one," he used his thumb to point to me, "even has a copy kept in the safe in her office."

At this point we were all doubled over, the sounds of our laughs, Jasper's current rant and his outtakes still running through the speakers filled the room and must have trailed down the hall. It was a good thing the rest of the office is used to our crew bursting into random hysterical laughter. They didn't even bother to check anymore when they heard us.

"I've deleted it. Many times. It keeps coming back to haunt me." A small laugh finally broke through, letting us know we were forgiven for enjoying his misery a little too much.

We slowly pulled ourselves together, the clip came to an end and I picked up the phone while wiping the tears from my eyes and dialed Rosalie's extension to let her know we were ready to go. She responded that she would be on her way upstairs with Alice.

I hung up the phone to see Jasper searching the system and the evil look in his eye when he turned his head in my direction said I was in for it. Just as he cued up the spot, I launched across the board, slamming my hand down on the button to turn the studio speakers off.

"Don't even think about it, Whitlock!"

"Turnabout's fair play, m'dear."

Our stare down lasted just seconds before Emmett broke in. "As much as I'd love to humiliate Jelly Belly, we gotta go." I shot him a grateful look and his lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Besides, there's plenty of time later to pick up where we left off."

They all three started to walk out of the studio while I stood unmoving, dumbstruck and wondering how I could deflect them later, before I realized I had been left behind and rushed to catch up, thumping Emmett and Jasper on the backs of their heads as I passed them and continued down the hall.

We turned the last corner to head into the lobby area and before I could brace myself, I was tackled. My sense of balance had always been my ruin and when coupled with the small heels I had changed into earlier to avoid Alice's wrath, there was simply no hope for me. Alice and I both went flying backwards. I tensed the second my body recognized that I had just slammed into another person. I didn't have to turn around to see who was holding us up. My body was already far too aware of the fact that Edward had been walking behind me before this crash landing. The feel of one hand on my shoulder while the other held me up by my waist sent my heart racing, not to mention the electric buzz currently pulsing through my body, beginning at each point we were connected and radiating out to every limb.

At this point, I was stuck and Alice didn't seem to be in any hurry to move. Granted, this entire thing happened in a matter of seconds but my brain was processing it in slow motion. I was hyper aware of every passing second I spent in this position. She bounced around, squealing some form of incoherent greeting to me while wrapping her arms around my neck in a hug. My balance still hadn't recovered since I was wedged precariously between two bodies unable to get gravity on my side again so the force of her hug just sent me further back into Edward. One arm reached around Alice and gripped her as tightly as possible, using her as an anchor. She must've thought I was hugging her back when in reality I was just trying to hold onto anything because she only gripped me tighter rather than move aside to allow me to free myself. My other hand shot out to my side, searching for a wall or any stable surface to grab onto but coming up with nothing. My arm waved frantically in the air. I was sure I looked like a total idiot and prayed we weren't directly in line of any of the security cameras. The last thing I needed was for this to be documented.

I felt a small shift behind me as Edward moved his head closer and whispered, "Don't worry, I've got you."

I was frozen solid, unable to move as he gripped my waist tighter. His breath against my ear as he spoke sent chills through my body, goose bumps appearing immediately. His left hand slid from my shoulder and across my collarbone until he could grip the opposite shoulder so I wouldn't continue to slide under the weight of Alice. His right hand had moved across to the other side of my waist, his forearm resting against my abdomen, stabilizing my body against his chest. Oh yeah, I was in trouble.

"What the fuck, Alice. It's not like you don't talk to her every day." Leave it to Rosalie to break the tension. Oh, what would I do without you, Rose?

"Irrelevant," Alice stated as she finally moved off of me, and stuck her nose in the air. "I haven't seen her in over a week."

Edward helped me stand back up, asking me if I was alright. I assured him I was with a small smile and nod as I smoothed my clothes back into place.

"Just another day with Hurricane Alice," I joked, smiling back as he grinned at me.

Just as luck would have it, Alice chose that moment to turn her attention back around and gave me a devious smirk before bounding over to Edward.

"Hi!" she squeaked, always cheerful. "I'm Alice. You must be Edward!"

He laughed at her energetic nature and shook her hand. "Yes I am. It's nice to meet you, Alice."

Never one to do what is expected of her, she caught him off guard by moving to her tiptoes and grabbing hold of a small patch of hair that hung down over his forehead, moving it around to examine it in the light.

"I would make a fortune if I could replicate this color."

Alice was in her zone, oblivious to everything around her, no doubt trying to figure out what combination of color, highlights and lowlights it would take to match his unique shade as Jasper moved in to pull her off of an extremely patient Edward, leaning in to him to explain, "Alice owns a salon and spa."

She hopped up to give Jasper a quick peck before turning back to me and linking her arm with mine and dragging me off ahead of everyone. I chanced a quick look behind me to make sure they were following to see the guys laughing while Rosalie sighed, shaking her head in exasperation, and trailed behind us.

"We have SO much to talk about," she whispered rather loudly. I grumbled internally, dreading where she was taking this and refusing to respond.

_Try not to engage her_, I told myself. _Stay silent, maybe she'll forget you're there._

I sighed to myself in resignation; if only that would work on her. I just wasn't that fortunate. I ventured a quick peek in her direction and internally groaned at the sly look that had taken over her entire face. I gave her a glare of warning that was returned with a look of faux innocence as she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "what?"

The six of us piled into the elevator when it reached our floor, moving to the back to allow more to enter as we stopped at other floors on the way down. Following standard elevator etiquette, I stood quietly in the back, staring up at the numbers as the elevator made its way down to the lobby. Being lunch time, it seemed like we had to stop at nearly every floor, making it the world's longest elevator ride. Seriously, were the folks from Guinness waiting at the bottom with stopwatches? The fact that I was standing right next to Edward, my senses attuned to him, only made it worse. At each floor, as more people stepped on, we were pushed closer toward each other. I couldn't tear my eyes away from those damn numbers. I didn't trust myself to do anything but count down in my head as we descended.

Of course Alice didn't get that "quiet in the elevator" memo and I was yanked out of my dead stare, literally.

I looked down to see Alice pulling at a belt loop in my jeans, giving me a look I had come to dread.

"What the hell is this?" she asked me.

"What's what Ali? They're my jeans. The jeans _you_ picked out. You can't tell me you have an issue with them." The frustration was evident in my voice. The jeans were the only part of my original outfit that I was sure I could salvage.

"They're too big. You've lost weight." She kept pulling, my whole body jerking with each tug as she inspected the slack around my waist, and a quick glance around the crowded elevator confirmed my worst nightmare. All eyes were on me, including his. "Seriously B, look at this. We need to go buy you new clothes if you've lost weight."

I feel my face flushing from embarrassment. Did I really need to have this conversation in such cramped quarters with what appears to be a rather captivated audience?

"Can't I just eat cookies and ice cream for the next week?" I mumbled to her and heard a flow of chuckles from all around me.

Jasper put his hand on Alice's shoulder, not even trying to keep a straight face. "Aww hon, look what you've gone and done now. I think it's time to step back and take a look at good hard look at yourself. If she's so scared of shopping with you that she has turned into the only girl in history who would prefer to gain weight rather than buy new clothes, you might have a serious problem that needs to be checked out."

The laughter around me picked up and I couldn't help but giggle at the offended look Alice was shooting at Jasper.

"Seriously Alice, it's not worth it. I've been so busy the past month, constantly on the run getting things ready for the summer concert season and getting the theater remodel underway that I haven't been eating like I should. It's just not worth it to spend the kind of money that I _know_ you're mentally spending right now over a few pounds that I'm sure will work their way back now that I have a somewhat normal schedule again."

She crossed her arms and huffed as we neared the bottom floor. The doors opened and we waited for the rest of the elevator to empty. I had just taken my first step when I felt Edward move behind me. Again, he leaned down into my ear, my own breath catching at the feel of his warm breath against my skin. "Okay, I see what you mean now."

A laugh burst out a little louder than I would have liked at his reference to our conversation this morning about everything making sense once he met Alice. As we stepped off of the elevator fully, Alice was standing there watching with her arms crossed and brow furrowed which only made me laugh harder. I could hear him laughing as he came up beside me and I watched her scowl travel between the two of us.

"What?" she asked, trying to stay annoyed.

I shook my head, put my arm around her shoulder and led her behind our friends. "Nothing. I love you, Alice," I responded in a sing-song voice.

Luckily, lunch with the group wasn't nearly as stressful as I had imagined it would be. With six people trying to carry on one conversation I was able to avoid feeling like I was constantly under a microscope. I still managed to catch the occasional knowing looks and there were moments that I wanted to slap someone upside the head for a not so subtle comment, but for the most part it was like every other time we all managed to coordinate schedules to meet in the middle of the day.

Having someone new with the group changed the tone a little, but definitely for the better. We ended up spending a lot of time reminiscing over stories intended to embarrass each other which led to other embarrassing stories we had long ago forgotten. I should have known I couldn't put off the near miss from earlier much longer.

"So," Jasper started with an evil glint in his eye, directed at me. "You were pretty quick to shut me down earlier. I don't think it's fair that we had to relive my most embarrassing on air moment and not yours."

"Don't even," I growled. "Your moment was just that, a moment. Mine gets revisited a dozen times a day. What's _fair_ about that?"

"You're always so sensitive when the subject comes up," Emmett teased, patting me on the back as my head fell into my hands in defeat.

"You tricked me! I had no idea you were recording!" I whispered loud enough for the whole table to hear, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the laughing.

"You didn't ask," he shrugged as he tossed a fry into his mouth.

I looked around the table to see everyone enjoying the moment except Edward whose face showed a combination of confusion and curiosity.

"Fine, tell it. I can't hide from it forever," I surrendered.

Jasper clapped his hands once victoriously before turning to Edward and telling him the whole mortifying tale. My so-called friends jumped in to add color commentary to the story of the local _gentleman's club_ that wasn't happy with the spot originally produced for them. I internally scoffed. Could there be a more inaccurate name than gentleman's club?

Emmett had been pulling different women from the office to try out the copy and nothing sounded right. Jessica, of all people, gave it a shot and Emmett thought he would be able to use it. I had walked in while he was working on the spot and laughed at how cheesy it was. I didn't think anything of picking up and reading the copy in a sarcastic phone sex voice. I might have been directly mocking Jessica's takes, but nobody needed to know that outside of our group. Emmett and I laughed hysterically at how ridiculously over the top I was, and yet frighteningly accurate at the same time, as I went through it a couple times, getting more and more dramatic at each pass.

I wasn't expecting the surprise that awaited me an hour later when he called me back into the production room. He had somehow pieced together a full spot from all of my mocking attempts that I hadn't been aware were being recorded. Even more humiliating was that the client loved it and insisted on using that one.

The only silver lining in the whole thing was that Jessica had been so excited at being _the voice_ that it really ticked her off when the client denied her version. The fact that it was my take that was selected, of all people, just added to the insult. I probably enjoyed that a little more than I should have.

After my story was told, it branched into other tales of our individual and combined disgrace. We also learned a lot about Edward in between our attempts to humiliate each other, as everyone asked him questions about his life prior to the past couple days. My plate became the most interesting thing in the room as I tried to avoid the scheming look Alice directed at me when she asked Edward if he was seeing anyone. When he answered that he wasn't, I returned her look of victory with my own look of warning. Fortunately, she backed off and started asking about his family, allowing me to breathe a little easier as we listened to him talk about his parents. I still couldn't bring myself to look around the table to see if anyone else was paying attention to Alice's and my exchange. I was all about denial. If I didn't see it, I could convince myself it didn't exist so, in my mind, my friends were completely oblivious.

It seemed that we all failed to remember that we were in a public place and we laughed even harder once we paid the bills and realized that every single table directly surrounding ours was completely empty while the rest of the restaurant was packed. Apparently we were having too good of a time and no one was willing to sit near us.

We left a generous tip, all of us feeling guilty for forcing half a dozen tables to stay empty, and headed back to the office. Walking down the sidewalk, Alice came up beside me and put her arms around me. I returned her sideways hug, resting my head against hers as it lay on my shoulder: a silent apology and an equally silent forgiveness. We walked like this for a few feet before squeezing each other tighter once more and letting go, just walking side by side, arms linked.

I would never try to deny that Alice knew how to push my buttons and there were times when her lack of filter made me cringe, but I didn't know what I would do without her. I supposed I could enjoy knowing that I could annoy her just as easily. When it came down to it, however, those annoyances were all only superficial things. When it really mattered, there was no one I trusted more than Alice. We had been practically inseparable since the first day we met back in high school; even the distance of an entire continent while I was living on the east coast didn't translate into distance in our friendship. She always had this unique way of putting me in my place while remaining absolutely supportive. I didn't want to think about where I would be without her. Her strength had been invaluable, especially in these last few years. It made it easy to forgive when she pushed just a little too hard.

Everyone went their separate ways once we got back to the office. The rest of the afternoon flew by. I spaced out again, much like earlier, and worked on auto pilot. I knew that my to-do list was down to almost nothing by the time I left for the day, but I couldn't begin to recall with any amount of clarity what I had actually done in those final four hours.

The rest of the week followed in much the same manner. I was getting better at following my old routine without having to make such an effort to do so. We had a lot going on with summer quickly approaching which helped keep me distracted and focused on something else. Each morning I stopped first in the studio and as each day passed I found it easier and easier to spend time with Edward. I was quickly becoming as comfortable in his presence as I was with any of the other guys. That wasn't to say that the butterflies stopped entirely, I just got better at being functional regardless and so far I hadn't really had to deal with being near him one on one more than a couple minutes at a time. All week I've had the security of at least one other person in the room to act as a buffer. I knew that wouldn't last forever and I couldn't help but be afraid of what would happen when I lost that shield.


	5. Meet Max

**Big thanks to my beta, beans827! She had a ton of other things going on and still got this chapter back to me.**

**And a huge thanks to Shug, who not only posted a really wonderful review on Twilight Enablers for this story, but also created a banner that I am absolutely giddy over. **

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BPOV**

I could hear the footsteps running up the hallway so I cracked one eye open just enough to take a peek at the clock to see that it was just after eight in the morning. A loud thud forced both of my eyes open completely but the giggle, followed by running feet, instantly relaxed me. I chuckled lightly as I flipped onto my opposite side, hiding my face away from the door.

The footsteps stopped and I heard the door creak open slowly. I felt the bed shift beside me as I listened to the light breaths escaping from my visitor. A few seconds of silence led to more shifting of the bed as the body moved closer. My eyes were clamped shut, feigning sleep. My ears attuned to every sound, I waited for my moment.

Moving as quickly as I could, so as to not allow my guest a moment to prepare, I flipped myself back over and roared as I reached out, forcing the small body backwards onto the bed.

A loud squeal pierced the air, followed by giggles so hard they turned into hiccups. "Mama, stop! That tickles!"

My fingers dug into his sides as he wiggled back and forth, trying to find an escape. "That's the point."

His little legs kicked the mattress, his laughs showing no signs of ceasing. Between choppy breaths, he begged to be freed. "Stop, Mama! Stop!" The continued laughs and half-hearted attempts to escape contradicted his pleas while his little hands found mine, trying to push them away from his sides.

I let go, knowing he needed to breathe at some point and pulled him into a hug, giving him exaggerated kisses on his cheeks, launching him into a new fit of giggles.

"Did you fall down out in the hallway?" Sadly, he inherited my lack of coordination. I still had my fingers crossed that he would one day grow out of it, but I had resigned myself to the idea that my child was cursed with the same constant war with gravity that I had dealt with my entire life. That thud in the hall was an all too familiar sound in our house and no one ever knew who exactly would be the source of the next crash.

He covered his face, embarrassed, and peeked at me through his fingers. I pulled one of his hands away so I could see his face. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

"No, Mama," he shook his head to assure me. "I didn't even cry."

I kissed the top of his head and moved away, reaching for the remote on my nightstand as he burrowed himself under the covers. I flipped on some cartoons before dropping the remote on top of the comforter and bunching my pillow up as I lay back down. Max curled up to my side as I wrapped my arm around him, pulling him tighter against me. It was our typical weekend routine, lazing around in bed watching a bit of TV before starting the day. I loved these moments with him, just quietly cuddling with the most important person in my life. I was exceptionally aware that the day would come too soon when the idea of cuddling with mom would horrify him, so I had to enjoy it while I could.

It was in these moments that my life made the most sense. How we got here may not have been ideal and certainly wasn't part of any plan I had, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. One look at this little boy and my heart was completely full. Nothing else mattered; all my stresses instantly erased. His presence in my life brought immediate peace.

All too soon, I knew I had to get up and moving, so I let go and shifted away. "What do you want for breakfast, baby?"

"I'm not a baby, Mama." He rolled his eyes at me, insulted, and I had to hold back the laugh that threatened to escape.

"I'm sorry. What do you want for breakfast you big, tough man?"

This must have appeased him, evidenced by the smile that spread across his face. "Pancakes!"

I rolled off the bed and playfully yanked his arms, pretending to be unable to move him. "Ugh. Too. Heavy. You're getting too big." I allowed his hands to slip through mine as I simulated stumbling backwards due to the loss.

He climbed up on his knees, giggling again and launched himself off of the bed. I headed into my bathroom as he took off out the bedroom door. When I finished, I went to the hallway to find him waiting for me outside of his bathroom door, toothbrush in hand. I helped him brush and we headed down to the kitchen together.

He climbed up on a chair, pulling a coloring book and crayons over to himself as I got everything ready to make breakfast. I flipped on the radio that I kept on the counter as I mixed up the pancake batter, singing along quietly to the song that was playing.

"Can we go to the park today?"

I turned around to see Max awaiting my answer, crayon still propped in one hand, hovering over the page he was working on. "Not today, sweetie. Aunt Ali's coming over, remember?"

His eyes lit up, until I continued. "She's going to cut your hair."

The frown that crossed his face made me laugh. "I don't want my hair cut."

This kid had a world class pout and he used it to his advantage. There was a good reason he was so spoiled. It was nearly impossible to deny him anything. "I know, but you're overdue. You're looking a little scraggly there, kiddo."

He sighed in resignation, turning back to his coloring book as I poured the batter onto the griddle. I checked the fire underneath again before heading to get the butter and syrup out, taking them over to the table.

"Whatcha working on?" I peeked over Max's shoulder to see his latest masterpiece as he described the scene in vivid detail.

"Can we put it on the fridge?" He looked at me, hopeful.

"Of course," I responded, kissing the top of his head before moving away. "I think right here's a good spot." I pointed to an empty space that would be eye level with him, moving a magnet to that area for him to use when he was finished.

Once the pancakes were finished, I took everything over to the table. Max pushed his coloring book aside, and dug in. Between mouthfuls, he launched into stories from preschool. As he talked excitedly about the songs they were starting to learn for the end of year program coming up at the end of next month, I reached over with a napkin to try and wipe away the patches of syrup threatening to drip from his chin. The action didn't slow down his rate of speech, he kept right on jabbering away. The phone rang, interrupting the song he was sampling for me and I stood up to answer.

"Hello?" I smiled, watching Max as he went back to singing the song they had learned this week.

"_Hey B, I'm leaving here in about twenty. Just wanted to make sure you were up."_

"Yeah, Alice. We're just finishing breakfast now. I just need to give Max a fast bath and then hop in the shower quickly myself then I'll be ready for whatever torture you have in store." I walked over to pick up my plate and take it to the sink. Propping the phone between my ear and shoulder, I ran water over the plate to wash away as much syrup as I could before opening the dishwasher.

"_Very funny,"_ she responded sarcastically. _"I have to pick up Rose first and then we'll be over. So, I'll see you in about forty five?"_

"Sounds good, Ali. See you soon."

"_Bye! Love ya!"_

"Love ya too. Bye."

I clicked the phone off and walked back over to Max. "All finished?"

He nodded his head and hopped down from his chair. "Don't go too far, you need to get a bath as soon as I get this mess cleaned up."

Forty minutes later, I had Max bathed and dressed as well as myself, the kitchen cleaned up and ready for Alice's invasion, and somehow even found time to make the beds. I had just settled onto the couch next to Max reading from the book he picked out when I heard Alice's car pull up outside. There went my peaceful morning. It was fun while it lasted.

A few minutes later, the door swung open without even a knock. Max jumped up from his seat, the book completely forgotten, and launched himself into Alice's arms. She scooped him up into a big hug and swung him around. "There's my favorite little guy!"

"Aunt Ali, I missed you!" He clung to her neck before pulling back to look in her face, pout in place. "Do you really have to cut my hair?"

She set him back on the floor before putting her hands on her hips to look down at him. "Of course I do. We need to make sure you look good. How else are you going to win yourself a kindergarten girl?"

"Alice!" I yelled to her, a look of shock crossing my face that my best friend would be already urging my son to show an interest in any girls, let alone older ones.

She waved a hand in my direction, "Oh relax."

Rosalie stepped around the bags of supplies that Alice had dropped at her feet when she walked in and crouched down to Max's level. "What about me? Don't I get a hug?"

He bounded over and jumped into her arms, his little arms wrapping around her neck. She swayed him side to side a few times before planting a kiss on his cheek, leaving behind the outline of her lips in bright red lipstick.

"You know, I could name at least fifteen men that would be so jealous of you right now, Max," said Alice as she leaned down to wipe away the mark. He looked at her in confusion, but thankfully didn't ask questions.

I stood from my seat on the couch, throwing my hands in the air in resignation, and stepped over to the pile of supplies that were dropped hastily in my entryway to start carrying them into the kitchen. Alice glided in behind me. Yes, she actually glided into rooms. Rosalie preferred to sashay, and the way those hips swing she had to be part metronome. Me? At best, I stumbled.

I headed to the downstairs bathroom to grab towels while Alice began setting up her workspace. When I re-entered the kitchen, Alice grabbed the towels from my hand, placing them on the counter next to the sink as I rolled the chair to the empty space at the table she had carefully set up as a makeshift workstation.

Rosalie, opting to stay out of the line of fire, stood off to the side with Max on her hip. She had a hold of one of his hands and every so often would tip him backwards. He would squeak out a plea for help, gripping the arm that she was using to prop him against her side every time he would move backwards. After a few seconds, she would stand up straight again pulling on the hand she was holding to help him work his way upright, both laughing the whole time.

For someone who came off as such a hard ass most of the time, Rosalie was really just a softy at heart. She was such a contradiction in so many ways: beauty and brains, feminine yet one of the boys, standoffish with those she didn't know but possessing an absolute heart of gold when it came to those she loved. The pure joy in her smile in moments like this was at total odds with the persona that has been known to make grown men cry. Standing there, watching her interact with my son brought a smile to my face. I was reminded of my earlier thoughts that things wouldn't be this way much longer. The older he got, the rarer these moments would become.

I was brought out of my reverie by Alice clapping her hands once. Turning to face her, I could see her examining her workspace one last time with her hands still clasped together from the clap. "Okay, I think I'm ready."

I pulled Max's booster seat off of the kitchen chair and placed it on the office chair as Alice put her hands out for Max. "Come on bud, you're up first."

She hoisted him up into the seat, giving him one full, slow spin on the chair before reaching for the cape and wrapping it around his neck. She picked up the spray bottle, dousing his hair in water turning the dark brown to a shade somewhere near black.

"Tell them about that song you were singing this morning," I urged him, trying to distract him from the scissors snipping away inches from his face. He launched into his story before starting into the song, Alice and Rosalie breaking in with the sounds of excitement at just the right times, while Alice combed small segments of his hair straight up, trapping them between her fingers and clipping off the excess. She worked quickly, trimming around his entire head as he repeated the few lines of the song he could remember over and over.

Ten minutes later, she put the scissors away and ruffled the hair with her hands, examining different sections to make sure it was even. I rolled my eyes when she reached over and sprayed a little bit of mousse into her hand and worked it through the strands. He had a little bit of natural wave to his hair and she used her fingers to twist chunks enough to amplify the curl. Three and a half and he was already a metrosexual. If she ever tried to shape his brows, we were going into hiding.

She pulled the cape off of him, shaking the excess hair onto the floor as she helped him out of his seat. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No, Aunt Ali," he sighed, defeated. She bent down to his level and put her hands on each cheek, giving him a quick kiss as I grabbed the broom and dustpan to clean up the mess surrounding the chair.

"Can I go play now?" His eyes were pleading, as if I would say no and force him to spend the next couple hours trapped in the kitchen listening to girl talk.

"Sure, sweetie. Just don't make too big of a mess." He took off in a sprint towards the living room as I walked over to the trash can.

Rosalie pulled the booster seat off of the chair and put it back on one of the kitchen chairs, then plopped down to wait for Alice. "Alright, it's time to make me beautiful. Get to it, pixie." She snapped her fingers in the air as if calling 'the hired help' and laughed.

Alice walked over and ran her fingers through Rosalie's hair. "Okay, what are we going to do this time? Same as last, or do you want a lighter shade since summer's coming?"

Rosalie waved her hand and shrugged dismissively, "Whatever."

Nothing made Alice happier than someone giving her carte blanche over their appearance. The look that crossed her face was intense, she was in her zone. She moved to the front and ran her hand through Rosalie's hair before watching the strands fall back into place. Her look turned pensive for a moment before she moved back and walked over to her supplies, loading a small handful into her arms before moving over to the sink.

With Max now out of earshot, I knew it was only a matter of time. I started counting down in my head, waiting for the first waves of the attack. _Five, four, three, tw-_

"So, Jasper says Edward's a really great guy," Alice nonchalantly broke the silence as she began mixing colors into two different bowls. "He seemed pretty nice at lunch the other day."

The pixie was fishing, trying to gauge my reaction. Luckily, I had been going through a stack of junk mail that had collected over the course of the week giving me something else to focus on, but I knew I had to answer. Silence was damning, sometimes more than saying the wrong thing. It was impossible not to notice that Rosalie, who always has something to say on any topic, was keeping suspiciously quiet.

"Yeah, he's very nice." I decided to keep the answers nice and short without giving her too much to read into.

"Not bad to look at either." Of course Rosalie chose to jump in at that point. There were two ways that sentence could be taken. Either it was an observation that needed no further elaboration, or it was an opening for others to expand upon. I decided to keep going through my mail and accept it as the former.

After a few moments of silence, I raised my head enough to look up and see two sets of eyes on me. Damn, it was the latter and they weren't going to let me pretend otherwise.

"Don't you agree?" urged Rosalie, Alice bouncing back to the table with her two bowls of color, looking hopeful in my direction.

I shrugged noncommittally and answered with a simple, "I suppose."

Rosalie rolled her eyes in annoyance at me, not bothering to try and hide it, while Alice's smiled dropped into a look of dejection because I wasn't playing along. One would think that they would eventually learn that the harder they pushed, the faster I shut down, but they kept hoping to trip me up one day.

I found myself at the end of my stack of junk mail and stood up to toss what I could into the trash can. I pushed the rest off to the side to be taken into my office later and run through the shredder just as Alice handed me a box of pre-cut wraps. It had become a tradition every time Alice did highlights. I would sit with the space-age, mystery material wraps that "blow foil out of the water" according to Alice and hand them to her, one by one, as she made her way through Rose's hair blending her two, perfectly mixed, shades of blonde. She had been using these things for a year and I still hadn't figured out what the hell they were made of or what made them so much better than plain old aluminum foil.

This time, though, I knew I wouldn't have time to ponder the mysteries of super-wrap because I was in full duck-and-cover mode.

"I wonder what they'll end up doing today?" Alice wasn't going to give it up. I was sure she thought she was being sly by changing the subject without _really_ changing the subject, but the girl was about as subtle as a nuclear bomb. I knew, though, that completely clamming up would do more harm than good. If I hoped to convince her to back off, I needed to be able to discuss any topic that included Edward just as I would anything else.

"They still haven't decided?" I asked her.

She shook her head, taking a wrap from my hand. "No. When I left, Jasper was getting ready and still couldn't tell me what they planned to do."

I laughed, having heard the back and forth all week in the studio, I knew just how indecisive they all were. "Yeah, they've been having trouble trying to come up with a plan. Last I heard, they were just going to 'get in the car and go' or something."

"Dumbasses will end up burning a tank of gas and call it a day," laughed Rosalie.

I chuckled at her prediction. "Wouldn't doubt it."

Nearly an hour later, having successfully managed to steer conversation away from the guys some time ago, I was sitting in the seat for my turn at being attacked by Alice's scissors. Rosalie had moved to the kitchen table, reading a magazine while Alice pulled my hair up into sections, leaving the bottom section down and combing it straight.

"How much are we taking off?" she asked, eyeing the length.

I shrugged, earning a slap on the shoulders; a warning from Alice to not move. "A couple inches? I don't know. You're the master."

She combed again and started trimming. She kept working, letting my hair down section by section, and trimming away.

Max walked in, watching Alice work for a few seconds before announcing, "Mama, I'm thirsty."

"Give me a few minutes. I can't get up until Alice is done. Okay?"

He nodded his head as Rosalie pushed her magazine aside and stood up. "What are you thirsty for, I'll get it for ya, handsome."

She reached out for his hand, the two of them walking over to the refrigerator. All of my hair was down now and Alice grabbed big sections between her fingers and extended the hair at different angles, working layers into my hair while Rosalie and Max deliberated over the options and settled on a juice box.

I heard my front door open and heavy footsteps walking through my living room.

"Anybody home?" a loud voice bellowed out.

Max took off running toward the voice, the juice box Rosalie had just started to hand him forgotten. Before he made it across the kitchen, Emmett stepped through the doorway. He crouched down just enough to catch Max as he jumped into his arms and picked him up, tickling Max's side causing him to giggle and lock his elbows to his sides in an attempt to stop Emmett's fingers.

"Hey Squirt! How ya doin'?" Emmett pulled his hand away from Max's side and ruffled his hair.

Jasper walked in, squeezing past Emmett who was still blocking the doorway, and patted Max on the head. "Hey kiddo!"

"Jasper!" Max yelled out with a grin then noticed an unfamiliar face standing behind Emmett.

Emmett turned so Max could face the new arrival as he introduced the two. "Hey Max, this is my new friend Edward."

Edward had been watching with a smile and looked at Max, "Hey there, I've heard a lot about you."

I watched as Max curled his fists under his chin, leaning into Emmett as much as he could. I rolled my eyes and laughed at him while Alice fluffed my hair to see how the layers would fall. "Don't even pretend that you're shy."

Max giggled and stuck out his little hand, something Charlie spent an afternoon teaching him the last time we visited because "if you're going to be a man, you need a good firm handshake" or something like that. Edward laughed as he took his hand and allowed Max to guide the shake for a moment before taking control and shaking it as fast as it could go, making Max's arm look like it was made of rubber. He laughed as Max laughed harder, then let go.

Emmett put Max down and watched him run over to Rosalie to liberate the previously abandoned juice box from her hands. Emmett took one look at Rosalie and burst into laughter. "You look like a baked potato!"

After a quick glance to make sure Max had his back to her, Rosalie gave him a death glare and flipped him off.

Everyone laughed as Jasper whispered, rather loudly, towards Emmett, "You so aren't getting any for a few days."

He shrugged, a cocky look spreading across his face. "We'll see about that."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and huffed while Alice decided to come to the rescue. "Well, I think it's about time for those to come out anyway. Let me take a look."

Rosalie sat down on the chair I had abandoned while Alice checked random strips of wonder-wrap and deemed the color "super perfect" before ushering Rosalie over to the sink so she could pull the strips out.

"So what happened to the big plans to see the city today?" I teased the guys.

Jasper took a seat at the table near me, Max climbing up on his lap and reaching over for his coloring book while Emmett made his way to the fridge before answering me. "Eh, we drove around for a little while and nothing jumped out at us."

Rosalie laughed and pointed at me, "I so called it!"

"That you did," I laughed with her.

Edward stood in the door, rather awkwardly, as if unsure whether or not to come into the kitchen fully. I felt bad, hoping he wasn't really as uncomfortable to be in my house as he looked. "You don't have to stay in the doorway. Come in, make yourself comfortable."

He smiled, almost shyly but gratefully as he took a couple of steps in. Emmett called out to him, "Follow me."

The two headed out the door leading to my garage, no doubt to raid the fridge full of drinks. As predicted, Emmett came in with a small armload of bottles.

"Geez Em, it's barely past noon," Rosalie griped. To an outside observer, she no doubt sounded like a bitter harpy the way she seemed to always nitpick. Those of us closest to her knew that what seemed like a constant stream of complaints was actually just playful banter. Though we all hated to acknowledge it, it was really just verbal foreplay for those two. The thought made me shudder.

"Exactly. It's officially the PM which is drinking time," Emmett responded to her, passing her a bottle.

Alice sent Rosalie to the bathroom to wash her hair and directed me back to the chair. The guys and Max headed for the living room.

"Well, that was a surprise," Alice said, referring to the guys showing up unannounced and not sounding surprised at all. I could either ignore it or call her on it, and as much as I would have loved to call her on it, I had to walk away from this one. I knew it could lead to a small fight and I didn't want anyone else to walk in on it. I would have to set her straight at some point, but I needed to wait until the moment was a little more private.

She sprayed some mousse into her hands, working it through my hair before turning the hairdryer on. She was just finishing up when Rosalie returned, holding a finger to her lips in a nonverbal appeal to stay quiet. She jerked her head, motioning for us to follow her. Alice and I exchanged looks of confusion and tried to figure out what she was doing. We could hear clatter coming from the living room and assumed that was where Rosalie was directing us.

As we neared the room, she flipped her phone open and got the camera ready. A smile took over my face at the sight as I quelled the laugh that threatened to escape.

Sprawled out on my living room floor were three grown men and a toddler amid an epic game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos. All four were oblivious to our presence. Max was sprawled out on his belly, legs kicked up in the air. Emmett was to his left, directly in front of us in the same position. Next was Jasper, across from Max, with an elbow popped on one knee while Edward claimed the final spot to Max's right.

The intense concentration that graced all four faces were nearly our undoing as the three of us glanced at each other, stifled the laugh, and looked back at the scene before us. All the hippos were opening and closing their mouths at hurried speeds as each tail was pressed down in rapid succession. Marbles were bouncing off of mouths, occasionally onto the floor, until finally swallowed by the hungriest of the hippos while the clang of plastic on plastic echoed through the room.

As the last marble was claimed by the fastest hippo, the room broke into cheers and taunts, depending on how well each person did. We couldn't hold back any longer and the three of us burst into laughter. Four heads jerked in our direction, my eyes locking immediately and unintentionally with Edward's. That knee-weakening crooked grin crossed his face and my heart rate sped up.

Max jumped up from his space and ran over to me. I lifted him up onto my hip as he chattered away excitedly. "Did you see, Mama? I won! Did you see me?"

"Yeah, I saw. Congratulations, baby!"

His features turned frustrated as he again reminded me, "I _told_ you, I'm not a baby anymore."

"You're just going to have to get used to it. You'll always be my baby," I whispered as I kissed his cheek and put him back down on the floor and walked over to the couch.

Alice and Rosalie headed back into the kitchen to finish up. Max ran over to Emmett who was still on the floor and launched himself onto Emmett's back. Jasper laughed, pulling the game out of the way so no one would get hurt, then loaded it back into its box. Emmett pulled Max around to his front and the two started wrestling.

I smiled, resting my chin on my arms as they crossed on the arm of the couch and watched the interaction as Edward stood up and walked over and sat down on the cushy chair just a few feet away from where I sat. I looked up to see him watching Emmett and Max as well, a contented smile on his face. There was always something so comforting watching my friends look at Max like he was the most important person in the room, but the innocent smile that graced Edward's face caused my heart to skip a beat.

I swallowed hard, taking a deep breath and started to look away. He must have felt my eyes on him because he looked over at me at that moment before my attention could be fully redirected and gave me a small smile. I smiled back and turned my attention back to the wrestling match before me, watching without seeing, trying to figure out how to keep up my restraint.


	6. Intimidated

**Another big thanks to Beans827 for beta-ing this thing! And to Shug for being a sounding board, spending over an hour of her Saturday helping me feel more confident about being on the right track. This is completely new territory for me so it's a huge relief and I'm extremely appreciative to have people willing to spend their free time helping me out and being so supportive.**

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**EPOV**

I wasn't sure what to expect when Emmett decided to call it a day by noon and meet up with the girls at Bella's house. I couldn't help but laugh at myself. It was getting absolutely ridiculous how much she affected me and the mention of a surprise visit threw my stomach into knots. Each day, the need to be near her grew more and more and I wasn't sure how much more severe the feeling of desperate need would be standing in her house, surrounding by her things and meeting her son.

Was it wrong to be intimidated by the idea of meeting a toddler? Because that sure as hell was how I felt and I wasn't afraid to admit it. Sure, part of me was eager to meet him, having spent the past week hearing everyone talk about him. I could tell by the adoration in everyone's voices at the slightest mention of him that he must be a great kid. But fuck, was there a lot of pressure. If this kid hated me, any hope I had of winning Bella over was blown out of the water.

I wasn't expecting this encounter quite so soon. We hadn't made any definitive plans for the day, and I knew the possibility to end up at her house was there since Emmett had thrown the option out there at one point or another over the past couple days, offhandedly volunteering her to feed him without so much as consulting her, but I was caught off guard when after just a couple hours of trying to figure out what the hell we wanted to do, we were already headed to her place. I had been counting on a full day of doing guy shit to prepare myself.

The day started out harmlessly enough. Jasper and Emmett picked me up at around ten thirty and we ended up at a driving range somewhere in the suburbs. We spent about an hour practicing our golf swings before the rain started. It was barely a drizzle, but I was informed that this was the first warning sign to head for cover before the torrential, unrelenting downpour started. We sat in the car like a bunch of morons for about ten minutes debating what to do next before it was decided to head over to see what the girls were up to, if they were finished with 'spa day' or whatever the fuck they were doing. Yeah, I had nothing to do with that decision. Emmett and Jasper made that one while I sat in the back seat, trying to figure out how to keep my cool once we got there. I had really banked on more than fifteen minutes to prepare myself for the introduction.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but to say I was surprised when we pulled up to the house would be an understatement. Actually, I knew exactly what I was expecting and I was an asshole for thinking it. I just assumed that single mother meant she had limited funds, and therefore a small fixer-upper in an older neighborhood. Instead, I found myself staring up at a pretty big fucking house. It wasn't a mansion or anything that ostentatious, but it certainly wasn't a fifty year old two-bedroom-one-bath in desperate need of a paint job and a handyman on call. It had to be relatively new, surrounded by other newer homes in what seemed to be a subdivision that was still being developed.

"Nice place, huh?" Emmett's slap to the shoulder broke me out of my stare. I didn't have a chance to respond since he and Jasper were already halfway to the front door.

I followed behind as Emmett let himself in, barely knocking after he already had the door open and one foot past the threshold. I looked all around as we made our way to wherever we were headed. I just assumed Emmett knew where he was going so I blindly trailed behind. The place had a very comfortable, homey feel to it; very warm and inviting. It was very _her_.

As we neared a doorway, I could hear the girls talking. At the sound of a child's voice, the nerves hit harder than they had all day. I was officially scared shitless of a preschooler.

Emmett called out just before walking through a doorway, Jasper following moved around him into the room. I leaned on the doorjamb, taking it all in. I watched with rapt attention as Emmett, then Jasper, greeted Max. He looked so much like Bella; I couldn't stop staring at him. His big brown eyes were practically glowing with excitement and his smile held such pure innocence. I began wondering why I had been so nervous.

Emmett turned him in my direction to introduce us and I couldn't help but laugh. Max cowered away a bit but instead of being offended or worried, I found it completely adorable. The smile never left his face. It simply transformed into one that was a bit more bashful, his two dimples still featured prominently on his cheeks.

My attention was pulled away from him when I heard Bella tease him about pretending to be shy. Even covered completely in a cape with her hair flying in different directions as Alice worked, she was absolutely gorgeous and I was more than a little envious of Alice. I wanted those to be my hands working through her hair, though the context would be entirely different.

I looked back at Max just as he stuck his little hand out for a handshake. I couldn't help but chuckle at the formality as I took it and quickly turned it into a playful handshake earning laughs from him. I understood why everyone spoke of him with such reverence. In less than two minutes, this kid had me wrapped around his finger, leaving me wondering what else I could do to earn another peal of laughter.

Once our moment was over and he went back for his juice box, the nerves hit again as I really started to think about where I was and I wasn't sure what to do with myself. Everyone else had a familiarity here, obviously, and just went about things as they normally would. I, on the other hand, wasn't sure what to do or where to go. I wanted to investigate every corner of this place that held all of her secrets. I wanted to learn as much about her as possible but all I could do was stand there.

After Emmett pulled me away for a quick trip to the garage, and later, a rousing game of Hungry Hungry Hippos, we had all settled in the living room, spread out on the couch, loveseat and chairs sharing the pizzas that had been ordered for lunch. Conversation was pretty tame, but I supposed that was to be expected with a three-and-a-half year old in the room. I found my attention drawn to him constantly when it wasn't entirely focused on Bella.

At some point I realized Rosalie had spoken to me, but I had been too distracted. I tried to ignore the snicker coming from Emmett's direction.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked her, needing her to repeat the question.

Rosalie threw me a teasing look before repeating. "I was just asking how Jessica and Lauren have been behaving."

I rolled my eyes thinking about all the times they had managed to bump into me, either together or separately. "Is there an off button somewhere? Some sort of repellant? They're seriously bugging the sh- . . . uh, they're seriously bugging me." I chanced a quick glance in Max's direction but he was too wrapped up in his Matchbox cars to notice anything. Crisis averted.

The whole room laughed, everyone talking over each other with varying forms of "nope", "sorry" and "tough luck" surrounding me.

"Ugh, those two haven't changed one bit in ten years," Alice grumbled, disgusted.

Bella cut in, laughing, "Actually I think they've managed to get bolder with time."

"Wait, you knew them ten years ago?" Emmett cut in, confused, asking the question I was wondering myself.

Rosalie gave him a playful slap on the back of the head, "What is it with your short term memory? They went to high school with them. They've mentioned that. . . several times."

Emmett was getting ready to respond when Max cut in, "Emmett, you're just like Dory! She doesn't have short term memory either."

"There ya go, Emmett! You're just like a cartoon fish. A female fish. How's your ego holdin' up, big guy?" Jasper mocked, laughing harder when Emmett mouthed a quick 'fuck you' in his direction so Max couldn't see or hear.

"Yeah, they were just as bad in high school. Totally thrived on attention from any guy. They weren't at all discreet in their flirting back then either. Although, I may have a solution for you, Edward!" Alice clapped her hands while giving Bella a devious look.

"Really? What's that?" I asked, eager to hear what I could do to get them to stop trying to touch me at every opportunity. At the same time, I heard Bella mumble an "uh oh" that was accompanied by a look of suspicion.

Alice turned her attention to Bella, "We can get Bella to give ol' Mike Newton a call. That'll get, at least, Jessica out of your hair, Edward."

I looked quickly around the room to see everyone else listening intently, seemingly having not heard all of this before either and eager to find out more. I focused back on Bella, feeling more than a little uneasy at the sound of another guy's name, but I was eased at the sight of her with her head shaking back and forth in her hands while she mumbled, "Oh God. Never gonna happen. Huh uh. No way."

"Oh come _on_! You can't just leave it there. Someone spill," Rosalie was practically salivating.

Alice was more than happy to oblige. "When Bella moved to Forks middle of junior year, Mike took quite a liking to her instantly. She found herself in the middle of a teenage love triangle."

By now, Bella had thrown her head back against the back of the couch and had her eyes closed as if attempting to block out the conversation or hide from it, a pink blush rising on her cheeks. "It was hardly a love triangle, Alice. "

Alice ignored Bella, continuing on. "See, Mike turned into Bella's shadow and she was too nice to just tell him she wasn't interested. Meanwhile, Jessica had been harboring a crush on him since junior high and the two hooked up from time to time. So when his attention was completely focused on Bella, Jessica got a wee bit upset. First, she tried to befriend Bella, trying to get a little attention for herself by hanging out with the new girl everyone was curious about. . ."

Bella finally picked her head up, "I tried, _repeatedly_, to push Mike towards her."

Alice waved a hand dismissively at Bella. "So anyway, Jessica realized that Bella wasn't a threat in that she wasn't interested in Mike so she slinked back to Lauren and the two played the typical high school games trying to get his attention and slandering Bella at every turn hoping to make her less appealing in his eyes, or any guy's eyes really."

"So things really haven't changed, have they? Why didn't you mention this before?" Rosalie questioned, the tone of her voice and the expression on her face both serious. "The way you two talked before, you only said you went to school together and that was it. I always assumed that there was nothing more to tell, that you all knew _of_ each other but didn't really know each other. It seemed like your paths never really crossed back then."

Bella shrugged, focused on the ends of hair that were twisting between her fingers. "Didn't really matter. They didn't bother me back then, and they don't bother me now. I've never had to worry about it. They're so over the top fake that no one worth worrying about ever took them seriously then and no one takes them seriously now."

Rosalie, in full mother bear mode, gave her an incredulous look. Emmett looked pretty livid himself, but seemed to be trying to stay quiet. Jasper just kept his head down, listening to everything, most likely having heard all of this already from Alice. Without realizing it, I had pulled myself to sit forward in my seat, elbows on my knees and hands clasped together, leaning closer to the conversation as if that action would bring understanding.

Bella sat up straight, folding her legs underneath her, and turned to face Rosalie better. "Seriously, Rose. Think about it. If Lauren or Jessica walks up and tells you something about _anybody_, are you really going to believe any of it? No. If you form an opinion about anyone, it's about them. Every word out of their mouths just makes them look more and more ridiculous. Their words say a lot more about them than it does about the person they're vilifying."

I watched, confused, as Rosalie exhaled sharply through her nose. She wasn't going to push it, but I could tell she wanted to. I couldn't help but feel left out of the loop. There was clearly something going on between all of them, obviously Lauren and Jessica are the source of some sort of trouble, and I couldn't begin to imagine what it was but something told me I would be reacting the same way as Rosalie if I knew. I couldn't repress the feeling of protectiveness already emerging when it came to Bella.

Bella sat back in her original position on the couch and a half smile pulled at her face as she looked over at Alice. "Oh, and horror of horrors, Mike Newton sent in his resume last month."

Alice's hysterical laughter broke the tension in the room as Bella's smile turned into a full one. "Oh no, what did you do? You guys aren't hiring him, are you?"

A look of terror crossed Bella's face. "God no! I was in Peter's office and he had handed me a few resumes to look over, ones he'd pulled from the stack to consider further and set up interviews. I got to Mike's and I think I scared Peter when I yelled out 'you've GOT to be kidding me!'" She laughed before continuing. "I told him if he has any respect for my sanity, he'll use that resume as kindling and forget it ever crossed his desk."

Jasper stood up from his spot at the other end of the couch Bella was sitting on. "I'm headed to the kitchen, anyone need another drink."

His announcement was met with the random yes or no as he walked out of the room.

Alice returned to the previous topic, teasing Bella. "Aww, so you shut down poor Mikey once again. Poor guy will be crushed."

"I'm waiting to get called on it," Bella said as she rolled her eyes. "He used Jessica and Lauren as references. I'm surprised they haven't mentioned it to me already. At the very least, if he doesn't get a call soon, I'm sure Charlie will get grilled when he goes into the store to stock up on fishing gear."

"Charlie's her dad," Emmett explained from across the room as I nodded my head in silent thanks for the clarification.

Bella looked at me, apologetic. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I forgot you're new to the group and don't know our whole histories already." As if there was even a remote possibility that I would be offended since she had just included me as part of her group of friends and essentially just admitted that she felt like she has known me longer than a week.

She laughed as I reached over, patting her knee. "Not a problem."

I pulled my hand back, watching as she looked down, almost embarrassed before she continued. "Anyway, my dad, Charlie, goes fishing like it's his job, and Mike's parents own the big sporting goods store in town. Being the small town it I, everyone knows everyone's business so it's only a matter of time before they start asking Charlie why I didn't help an 'old friend' in getting a job."

Jasper returned at that moment, handing out drinks. Bella turned slightly in his direction. She put her left hand in the air, slightly behind her to snap her fingers at him. Laughing, she called out in his direction, "Wadsworth!"

He handed her a diet Coke, responding with a laugh of his own. With a bad, fake British accent he said, "I'm merely a humble butler."

"What exactly do you do?" Bella responded, not missing a beat.

"I buttle, sir!" Jasper finished.

"Oh God, not again," Alice groaned, shaking her head.

"Seriously you two," Emmett interrupted, "you need to get a new shtick."

The two just laughed at their friends as they continued to quote back and forth with each other. Jasper began the next round, "But he was your second husband. Your first husband also disappeared."

Bella was up on her knees, speaking to Jasper on the other end of the couch over top of Alice who was still shaking her head and rubbing her temples as if trying to stave off a headache. "But that was his job. He was an illusionist."

The two were smiling, enjoying the back and forth. "But he never reappeared!" Jasper called out.

Bella scoffed, animatedly. "He wasn't a very good illusionist."

Alice interrupted the two again, looking at me. "You'll have to forgive them. Once they start, there's no stopping them. Trust me, we've tried. They've bonded. There's nothing we can do."

I laughed at Alice's exasperation and looked quickly between Bella noticing they had yet to start into another scene of the movie. I took the opening, nonchalantly quoting, "Communism was just a red herring."

Silence filled the room as both jaws dropped then turned into grins as Bella and Jasper both looked at me and I heard the other three groan in defeat. Bella turned to Jasper and asked, "You know what this means?"

A cocky smile crossed Jasper's face. "No more minority."

Bella pumped a fist in the air. "Even strength, baby!"

I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face to match the huge grin Bella was shooting in my direction; who would have known that _Clue_, of all movies, would help us bond. I hadn't noticed that Rosalie had moved until I felt someone slap the back of my head. I had no idea how she made it all the way across the room so quickly. I turned to see her rolling her eyes at me. "Traitor."

We continued to laugh and talk for awhile when eventually Max put his toys to the side and climbed up onto the couch, cuddling up to Bella's side. She shifted him to her lap, allowing him to sit sideways and rest his head on her chest. I watched her whisper to him, stopping only to nuzzle her nose in his hair or drop kisses to his head or temple. He would occasionally nod or whisper back, little fingers playing with the collar of her shirt. In the back of my mind, I registered the quieter atmosphere in the room but I couldn't take my focus away to pay attention to anybody else. It seemed like such a private moment that we were all intruding upon but I was unable to look away.

She silently passed her drink over to Alice who leaned forward to place it on the coffee table. With both hands now free, she used one to lightly rub his back while the other moved to his forehead as she traced a line lightly with her thumb back and forth across the center. Within a couple minutes of starting that simple movement, his eyelids drooped, his hand dropped to his lap and he was asleep. She brought her hand back down, wrapping both arms around him and lacing her fingers together.

After a few more minutes, I assumed to make sure he was fully asleep, she started to stand. Emmett, Jasper and I all started to stand at the same time to help her. She smiled her thanks, politely refusing assistance, whispering, "I've got him."

We all watched as she shifted his body and he subconsciously clung to her, his arms wrapping around her neck and legs dangling at her waist. His head rested on her shoulder, mouth partially open in a deep sleep. She made her way up the stairs and disappeared from view.

There was no denying it, I was so fucking infatuated.

As I turned back to the other people in the room, I noticed everyone starting to get up and move around. They were shuffling around the room, cleaning up the mess left behind from lunch. Boxes were closed, plates picked up and cans and bottles collected to take to the trash. I stood up to help as Alice brushed by me, slowing down as she bumped deliberately into my side. Without looking up at me and still facing the opposite direction, she whispered, "She'll come around."

As she started to walk away, she turned to give me an encouraging smile and a wink. I prayed she knew what she was talking about. I wasn't sure what I would do if I couldn't get Bella to fully let down her walls for me.

After a few minutes, Bella returned, hopping down the stairs. Emmett charged back into the living room, clapping his hands once then rubbing them together. "Alright, let's head downstairs."

He walked over to a door, whipping it open. We all followed as he thundered down the steps. The stairs ended in the center of a large finished basement. There were couches and chairs set around the space to the one side of the stairs with a large television on the wall and a few toys scattered around the floor. To the other side, a pool table and air hockey table stood side by side but spaced far enough apart to give players room to move around and line up shots. The pale cream of the walls and lighter shade of cream colored carpeting brightened the space in a way that the tiny windows near the ceiling along the far wall couldn't.

I was still taking it all in when Bella, who had come down behind me, stepped to my right. "This house is amazing."

She seemed almost embarrassed as she muttered her thanks.

"No, really. Now I understand why Emmett was in such a hurry to come over," I laughed, pointing at him chalking a cue near the pool table.

A quick laugh escaped her mouth as my eyes roamed her face, taking in every detail. "Yeah, I think he'd camp out down here permanently if I let him."

Embarrassment dominated her features again. "It's a little much, but I got a really good deal on the house and couldn't pass it up. It's a lot more house than two people really need, but the others in the same price range I had been looking at were a lot smaller and older and needed some work. This house was at the upper end of what I was willing to spend, but with the work the others needed, they probably would've ended up costing more in the end. I got this place so far under its value it's not even funny."

"Fucking highway robbery," Emmett shouted out. "If it was anyone else I would've been tempted to outbid her and take this place for myself. Jelly Belly's lucky I love 'er."

She rolled her eyes and laughed at him as she started walking away. "Stop calling me that!" she yelled over to him and his loud guffaw filled the room.

She looked up at me as she walked away and continued where she left off talking about the house, an unspoken invitation to follow. "The previous owners were in a hurry to get rid of the place. They were happy just to break even. The husband was the builder; he built a lot of the homes in this neighborhood, so their mortgage was just the cost of construction. He hadn't been working much with the housing crash and then the company his wife worked for went under. She was offered a job in New York with a more stable company so they jumped on it. I still can't believe they accepted such a low offer, but they said they just wanted to have it sold and move on. They didn't want it to sit on the market for the next six months draining them and I was, fortunately, in a position to close quickly."

We stopped by a bar in the corner near the pool table. "There's a fridge back here if you get thirsty. Just help yourself." I nodded and she jumped back into her story. "Anyway, their realtor was good friends with mine so the house wasn't even officially listed yet when I got the call. I couldn't believe how little they were asking and it seemed like a no brainer. They ended up making a small profit, enough to finance their move and give them a little cushion even after paying commission and I got a ridiculous deal so it was win/win."

She pointed between the two tables, "They didn't want to haul this kind of stuff across the country so we tacked a few thousand onto the final price and I kept it. I'd never justify buying this stuff new, but I can say it has definitely been appreciated." She looked up at Jasper and Emmett and laughed as they both raised beers, saluting.

She moved to a door nearby and opened it, standing off to the side so I could look in. "This was all included as well." I stepped into a home gym and looked around. There was a weight bench in the middle, a treadmill, and elliptical, and a couple other machines around the room with a flat screen on one wall and a stereo set up in the corner.

"Like I said, it was in line with the cost of homes that needed a lot of work. I couldn't pass it up."

I turned around to see that look of embarrassment once again. As if I needed more to endear her to me. Where most would be showing off the things they own, as if it signified personal worth, she was self-conscious about it. She didn't want others to see what she owns and judge her as materialistic.

"I don't blame you. I don't think anyone could pass it up. You really have a beautiful home."

She blushed, eyes cast downward. "Thanks."

She turned the lights off in the gym as we exited, pointing out a few more things before returning to our friends. Emmett and Jasper seemed to be nearing the end of their game.

"You got winner?" Jasper asked.

"Sure," I said, nodding. My mind was still on Bella and her uneasiness when it came to material things. I kept thinking about all the ways she was different from every other woman I had ever known; thinking about all the ways she was better.

We played for about an hour, the girls joining in as well. Everyone openly trash talked each other, teasing and good-natured ribbing. As we all laughed, I realized how much more at home I felt here with this group than I had when I was actually _at_ home.

Eventually, Bella slipped away from the group. Just moments after stepping out of view up the stairs, we heard a big thud followed by a quieter, rhythmic thumping. Her hysterical laughter filled the room and seconds later a single shoe bounced down the steps.

"Screw it, I'll get them later," she mumbled loudly to herself just before the matching shoe flew down, having been thrown from the top. The laughter quieted as she pushed through the door at the top and I turned a questioning look around the room. Everyone was chuckling, shaking their heads.

"That's normal for her. Get used to it, she falls all the time," Alice explained, still laughing.

"It's practically a handicap," Rosalie added with a snort.

A short while later, I heard the door at the top of the steps open, followed by footsteps. Halfway down, Bella crouched to look at all of us. "Okay, Max has something he wants to show you all."

Small footsteps could be heard behind her and she reached her hand out to hold his as he stepped beside her. He hopped off the last step and faced us, clad in a green uniform with a soccer ball tucked under one arm.

"Look at you!" Alice squealed, running over to scoop him up. After a quick hug, she set him back on the ground and everyone else joined in, offering compliments to him. His smile grew exponentially larger at the attention he was receiving.

"When's the first game, squirt?" Emmett asked, crouched down to his level. Max looked up at Bella for the answer.

"Two weeks from today," she answered.

Jasper made a spinning motion with his finger, "So what number did they give you, kiddo?"

Max turned, flashing the number on his back to the room. "Twenty Five!" he yelled out proudly, high-fiving Jasper.

Rosalie rolled the soccer ball back towards Max. "Show us what ya got!"

He kicked the ball back to Rosalie, who rolled it to him again. He took off running around the room, chasing after the ball each time he kicked it. Everyone watched, laughing at his exuberance. Eventually, everyone moved fully into the other half of the basement, taking seats or standing to the side, out of the way, to watch Max play, shouting encouragement and cheering for him.

He kicked the ball off to the side and it rolled right to my feet. He stopped running right in front of me and I crouched down to his level, elbows on my knees. "Do you mind if I borrow this for a second?"

"No, you can play too," he said. I smiled at him, ruffling his hair and he giggled. Such a fucking adorable sound.

I gave the ball a quick squeeze as I stood, testing it out then giving a quick look up to the ceiling. The ceilings were rather high for a basement, but I guess if a builder was designing his own home he would add those kinds of details. I held the ball in the air and dropped it, bringing my knee up and bouncing it a few times. I pulled my other knee up and began alternating back and forth at random. I gave a harder hit and started bouncing it off of my forehead then let it drop to the top of my foot where I kicked it back up to my knees. I wasn't sure how long I was at it, alternating feet, knees and forehead, but eventually I brought the ball to a stop, catching it with my hands before crouching back down and handing it off to Max.

"Whoa!" It was the only response he could formulate after a few seconds of silence and I laughed. His eyes were wide with awe.

He finally snapped out of his daze. "Teach me! Teach me!"

I laughed as he hopped up and down excitedly. Looking up, my eyes connected with Bella's. She was smiling and biting on her lower lip, watching Max and I interact. She looked so happy and my heart swelled that I had at least some part in bringing that to her.

"I think you have a new best friend," she laughed as I looked back at Max, who was now holding the ball just inches from his knee and bouncing it without ever really taking his hands off of it.

I knew, without a doubt, I had to do whatever it took to be in their lives in whatever capacity they would have me.


	7. Hometown Celebrity

**Thanks to my betas Beans827 & Shug!**

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**BPOV**

I started the new work week even less sure of myself than I had been the previous week. Considering the amount of second guessing and level of insecurity that plagued me last week, that was saying a lot. Each night, I would fall into bed feeling dead tired, and yet I was unable to sleep. My mind constantly replayed moments spent with Edward. When it didn't, it was creating thousands of 'what if' scenarios to further drive me to the brink of insanity. Every time my eyelids grew too heavy, and I knew sleep was finally ready to overtake me, a new thought would take over and jerk me awake, not allowing me to rest until the scene played out in its entirety in my head.

It was no help that Max could not stop talking about Edward. I was amazed at how quickly he went from shy to total adoration. Max had been so excited to start playing soccer anyway and had been kicking that ball around the house and yard as often as possible since sign-ups.

Never having been all that athletic, I could do little more than kick the ball back in Max's general direction. I was pretty much a lost cause, and Max, poor kid, knew it but wanted me to play with him anyway. My wayward kicks sent him all over the yard trying to chase that damn ball. To say he was excited to have access to someone who knew how to play was an understatement. He rarely left Edward's side the rest of the afternoon, begging him to teach him more.

I had to dig through the summer toys in the shed to find a lightweight plastic ball, because Max insisted he needed to learn how to do headers after seeing Edward's initial display. No matter how many times we explained that he was way too little and had to wait until he was older and his skull was a little stronger, he just wouldn't accept it. We had to make him swear he wouldn't try to use his forehead in a game. I wasn't eager to deal with a toddler with a concussion.

The afternoon had been relatively dry, and the yard was only a little damp, the heavier rain having missed us, so we had all moved out to the back yard and watched as Edward tried to teach Max first how to kick, then how to run and kick at the same time while keeping the ball under control. Jasper and Emmett got in on things, as well, with Emmett missing dramatically as he tried to block the small goal and Jasper, equally as dramatic, attempting to keep up with my little speed demon. Edward kept pace with Max up and down the makeshift field, shouting out encouragement and guiding him.

Alice, Rosalie and I sat on the back deck, watching the guys as they ran back and forth. There were more than a few appreciative comments muttered about the men, mostly from Alice and Rosalie as I wasn't yet comfortable or confident enough to comment more than a begrudging agreement, too afraid to open the doors for those two to start pressuring me for more.

Max truly surprised me at how quickly he was adapting to everything Edward told him. I had hoped, when signing him up, that playing soccer would help with his coordination; anything to get out from under my cursed lack of athletic ability. I watched in amazement at his speed and the way he was able to control the ball while running and dodging the guys. He even had quite a powerful kick for his age. His aim was certainly a lot better than mine, though that honestly didn't take much as I set the bar pretty low.

As the afternoon drifted into early evening, we decided to grill steaks out in the summer kitchen. The guys, of course, had to take care of grilling, while we girls threw a few side dishes together. The weather was cool, but still nice, so we decided to sit outside at the table and enjoy the relatively clear sky as the sun slowly lowered in the sky. It was comfortable. Everything just felt _right_.

Max, of course, had to sit next to Edward and talked his ear off the entire time. I kept apologizing and offering to quiet him down, but Edward just laughed and insisted he wasn't bothered at all. He told Max stories about when he started playing, at roughly the same age, and eventually we all learned he had played all through school and even through college. Max listened intently to every single word, completely fascinated by every syllable his new idol spoke.

The day wound down, and it was almost time for Max to head to bed. Everyone headed out with promises to see each other soon as I tried to get Max to calm down a bit so he would actually fall asleep. He and I spent the day together on Sunday, taking it slow in the morning and heading to the park in the early afternoon to enjoy that tiny window of dry before the forecasted rains were due to hit. At random, he would recount everything he had learned the day before and question if Edward would come back over and play or would he come to his game. It was no surprise that I couldn't get my mind away from Edward. Every time I would distract myself, Max would throw him back into the conversation. If it wasn't so adorable, it would have been completely irritating.

This, of course, all led to my current neurotic state. I was more confused than ever stepping back into the office, trying to figure out what I wanted. Fortunately, with Edward on-air, he had a seat near a mic instead of next to my usual spot. Sure, part of me felt the loss, but the rational side knew that any amount of distance was a good thing until I could make some sense out of the jumble that was my brain. So, while inwardly I was struggling, outwardly I was falling into a routine and becoming more and more comfortable carrying on conversations.

We spent more time chatting as part of the group and on our own, often stopping in the hallways to talk for a minute or two, and each encounter was easier and easier. I still felt like I was ready to completely flip out at any moment, finally succumbing to the insanity, and the fact that he was always so composed just pissed me off. I was seemingly alone in my struggle to make sense of things, which made my constant internal monologue seem even more ridiculous.

On Wednesday, I sat at my desk researching acts for the fall concert season when I heard Peter yell across the hall for me.

"Brainstorming session in five, Swan!"

I laughed, calling back out without looking up, "I'll bring the muse!"

I heard him chuckle as I made a few more notes on a couple of bands I was researching. After exactly five minutes, I grabbed 'the muse' off of my desk and headed to the door, plopping down just outside my office with my back against the wall. Peter was already waiting for me.

"Alright, what are we trying to figure out?" I asked as I tossed a small stress ball at him.

He caught the ball, squeezing it once before tossing it back to me. "I'm thinking about a big show around the holidays to promote the stations, maybe try and get some artists to play for free or at least at reduced rates and coordinate with a couple charities to donate all the profits."

I tossed the ball up in the air and caught it, instinctively, as I thought about the idea for a moment. Peter's office was directly across from mine. The hallway passed through the area but widened between our offices, originally designed to leave space for a secretary outside Peter's door. Neither of us really needed additional support since we either did our own work or had the help of interns or, at times, Angela, so the area was empty, leaving a wide open space perfect for our unusual meetings.

We had gotten into the habit, not long after I started, by talking to each other while simply standing in our doorways. One day, I had been fidgeting with the stress ball, pilfered from a box of swag sent by one of the label reps, and we unthinkingly began tossing back and forth. Ideas had started flowing, and voila, 'the muse' was born. We would move to more private spaces when discussing confidential matters, but most of our discussions were regarding more innocuous topics, so we often found ourselves sprawled on the floor in the hall.

As I sat on the ground in the middle of the hall, I thought about Peter's idea. "I like it. Are you looking at this year or waiting for next?"

I tossed the ball, slightly to his left but still within reach. He snagged it from the air and tossed it back. "Ideally, I'd like to do it this year, but I don't know if that's pushing it or not."

I looked down at the ball in my hands, watching it wrinkle as I squeezed, and thought about the logistics of putting something like this together. I threw it back at him, this time with better aim. "It'll be tough but not impossible. Depending on a number of factors, it may have to be small this year, but if that's the case, we can at least get a feel for the market to see if doing something like this annually would go over well."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'd like to be able to put together a full day in the arena this year, but it all depends on whether we can sign anyone big enough. We could be running a little late trying to make deals with the larger bands that would fill a venue like that." He tossed the ball back, yet again.

We made a few more tosses back and forth as I thought some more. "Really, we only need one or two bigger names. As long as you don't have your heart set on anybody in particular, I'm sure we can find someone with enough draw that has an opening in the tour schedule on a date that works for us."

I thought a little more before expanding. "Then we can focus on a couple more mid-level acts to help draw crowds. And finding enough newer, smaller bands to fill the rest of the day shouldn't be a problem at all."

"You make it sound so easy!" he grinned at me, lobbing the ball harder at me.

We tossed ideas, and the ball, around for a few more minutes when I looked up to see Edward headed in our direction. His amused expression paired with his crooked grin about did me in. "What's all this?" he asked, laughing at Peter and I blocking a good portion of the hall with our outstretched legs.

Peter tossed the stress ball at Edward, who caught it with ease. "Brainstorming, bro!"

I couldn't hold back the laugh at Peter. "You cannot pull that off. No more 'bro' for you, okay?"

He threw the ball, aiming for my head, as hard as he could after Edward had tossed it back to him. Edward just laughed at us. "You know, most people use offices or conference rooms."

I pulled the arms down that had been wrapped protectively around my head while dodging the ball and looked at him, giving him a wry smile. "We aren't most people."

"Bro," Peter added quickly, catching me off guard and setting off another peal of laughter. This time, I couldn't stop the laughs which just got bigger and bigger as I looked between the two amused faces watching me; their expressions prevented me from calming myself down since I just laughed harder every time I looked at two faces that were clearly trying to determine if I was certifiably insane.

I wiped at the tears threatening to spill, taking a few calming breaths. "I think I need more sleep; that shouldn't have been that funny."

My laughter eventually died down, but didn't entirely subside as I continued. "I think I'm just slap happy at this point. Delirious."

Edward moved next to me and slid down the wall, reaching over to pull the stress ball from my hands, his fingers grazing mine. My heartbeat sped up as I released it, my gaze slowly rising up to meet his. We both looked away after a brief moment, and I watched as he gave the ball a squeeze before lobbing it over to Peter.

"Alright, I'm headed back inside to look at the calendar to see what dates are open. I'll get you a list of tentative dates so you can start calling and seeing who's available to book." Peter stood up, grinning as he tossed the ball back over to Edward before turning and heading back into his office.

The silence was driving me crazy, though it had only been a few moments. I felt Edward's eyes on me and glanced up at him.

He gave a general wave of the area and flashed that lopsided grin again. "So, productive meeting?"

I laughed, realizing how silly Peter and I must look to those not used to our peculiar meetings. "Yes, it was. They usually are when we camp out in the hall to hash out plans." I shrugged, unsure of how to explain this odd habit. "We seem to get more done than if we head to the conference room."

He laughed as he tossed the ball in the air and caught it. "It's certainly never boring around here. You never know what you're going to walk into next."

Silence fell over us again, this time I took initiative to break it before it got awkward.

"Well, I think Max's coaches are ready to duct tape his mouth shut already after one practice," I laughed as I looked at Edward out of the corner of my eye, pointing a scolding finger at him, "and, it's all your fault."

His expression turned stunned, worried, as he stuttered for words. "Wha – why? What happened?"

I had to laugh at how taken aback he was, not realizing that I was joking. "Apparently he has taken it upon himself to try and teach the other kids everything you taught him on Saturday. They couldn't shut him up last night. Every time they'd try to teach the kids something new, Max would pipe in with his own suggestions."

A huge laugh escaped Edward's lips as I admired the effect it had on his face, making it even more beautiful than usual.

"At one point, he was correcting the coach, telling him he was kicking all wrong."

We both laughed, and Edward apologized. "Sorry, I didn't realize he'd take it all so seriously. I hope it doesn't cause problems."

I waved off his concern. "Nah, they thought it was hilarious. Most of the other kids were fairly indifferent; they just wanted to kick the ball around with friends. They're too young to really understand, or care to understand the concept of the game. Max was the only one really taking it seriously, so the coaches were having a blast with him."

A contemplative look crossed his features. "I had fun Saturday. I'd forgotten how exciting it is to relive the game through a kid's eyes as they learn for the first time. You play for so long and the novelty kind of wears off. Sometimes you need to see it from a new perspective to appreciate it again."

"Please don't feel obligated or anything, but he keeps asking if you're coming to any of his games," I quietly admitted. I had struggled for days on whether or not to say anything to Edward. The fact that Max was already so attached, after just one day, to the same person who was throwing my whole world off its axis left me feeling incredibly vulnerable, and I knew that verbalizing Max's constant request would only intensify that feeling of vulnerability.

"Of course I'll come. I'd like nothing better than to be there. Next Saturday, right?" he asked, and I nodded my head.

We sat in that hall, chatting for who knows how long, until I was interrupted by a page and had to return to my office to take a call. Edward stood first, offering a hand to help me up as I tried to prevent any visible reactions to his touch.

I made it through the rest of Wednesday and all of Thursday without falling apart. It seemed that each day, he and I found more and more reasons to talk. And each time we talked, he found reasons to touch me. All were innocent, of course; safe zones like elbow, shoulder, arm. But I couldn't deny that a part of me longed for more than a few seconds in neutral territory.

Friday morning, Max and I packed up the car and headed to Forks for the long Easter weekend. My thoughts were torn about this trip. I was excited to see Charlie again, as was Max, since it had been awhile since our last visit but with all the new _developments _in my life, I was a little disappointed that we weren't going to be at home with friends this year. Knowing that Edward would be spending most of the weekend with my closest friends without me nearby to make sure their filters were fully functional terrified me. I didn't want to think about what any of them, Alice especially, would say to him about me.

We made it into town by early afternoon. Max was sacked out in the back, head lolling to one side with his mouth agape and most likely drooling, as I made my way through the familiar streets and pulled into the police department on a whim when I noticed Charlie's cruiser out front.

I got out of the car and opened the back door, leaning over Max to unbuckle him. "Time to wake up, sweetie. We're here."

His eyes cracked open, and consciousness slowly took over. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes before he looked out, taking note of the cruiser parked in the next spot. His eyes popped open fully, and he looked up at me.

"We're here?" His tone was somewhere between question and statement.

I laughed at his reaction as I pulled him out, setting him on the ground and taking his hand. "Yep, we're here. I thought we could stop in and see Grandpa before we head to the house. How does that sound?"

He didn't answer verbally, but the tug on my hand as he tried with all his might to pull me faster to the door told me all I needed to know.

I opened the door, and Max took off inside like he owned the place. Sue looked up, a warm smile taking over her face as she stood up to cross from behind the counter to envelop me in a hug. "We weren't expecting to see you here, sweetie." I had known Sue for awhile and had suspected for some time that she and Charlie had something going on, but Charlie wasn't going to spill and I was never home long enough to verify it.

I hugged her back, "It was a spur of the moment decision made about two minutes ago. How have you been?"

"Good. Things have been good." She placed a hand on my cheek, appraising me. "Look at you. I swear you get more beautiful every time I see you."

I ducked my head, blushing. "Oh, please."

She turned her attention to Max. "And look at you! Oh my, I almost didn't recognize you. You've gotten so big!"

"I'm almost four!" Max told her, proudly, thrusting four fingers up in front of her face to illustrate.

"Already? Where has the time gone?"

"What's going on out here?" I heard Charlie call out, jokingly, as he stepped out of his office. Max immediately turned and ran, jumping up into Charlie's arms.

"Grandpa!" he yelled out, arms wrapped around Charlie's neck like a vice.

"Oh," Charlie growled playfully. "I missed you, kiddo." He shifted Max slightly to prop him on his hip as he walked over to give me a one handed hug and drop a kiss onto the top of my head. "And I missed you, too."

Something about being a grandparent had softened Charlie up considerably. I never doubted that he loved me growing up, but he was rarely openly affectionate. Ever since Max arrived, though, he stopped hesitating to let either of us know how much we were missed and loved. I wasn't sure if it was all due to Max, or a combination of him and everything that I went through leading to the decision to move home, but I didn't question it.

"Well, good, because you're stuck with us for three days now."

Charlie laughed as he led us past the counter so he could head towards the other offices to show Max off, like always.

We spent twenty minutes saying hello to everyone before Max and I headed to the house. We settled in, unpacking our things, and I headed into the kitchen to take inventory and start a shopping list. I threw together a quick lunch, making sandwiches from the limited options in Charlie's fridge before Max and then headed to the backyard so he could play on the swing set that Charlie had installed pretty much the moment he got the call from me saying I was moving home.

Checking my watch and seeing it was nearly three, I corralled Max back into the house to freshen up. I knew the stores would be busy with the holiday weekend regardless of when I went, but I figured the sooner the better.

The parking lot was half full when we pulled in, and I sighed with relief that we may actually be able to finish quickly. Max and I walked into the store, where I immediately grabbed a cart and headed for produce. We were stopped regularly, so many familiar faces wanted to catch up and say hello. Everyone in town knew my father, being the Chief of Police, so by default they all knew me. Charlie bragged about Max so much that he was practically a local celebrity the way people acted. I was surprised Charlie didn't demand to give us a full ticker tape parade every time we entered the city limits.

More than a few former classmates had admitted to me that they had managed to get out of speeding tickets by distracting the Chief with questions about Max.

"What kind of ice cream do you want, Max?"

Max had his hands splayed out on the glass door of the freezer, nose pressed against it while agonizing over the choices. I laughed as I placed my hand between his forehead and the glass and gently pushed his head away, creating some distance.

"Chocolate!" he yelled out. Can't go wrong with chocolate.

I was leaning over the cart to place the half gallon carton inside when I heard my name called out. I closed my eyes and groaned, taking a deep breath before turning.

"Hey, Jake."

He jogged up the aisle to where Max and I were standing. I hated feeling like I needed time to prepare before seeing him. He and I had been really good friends at one time. Even after he developed a crush on me in high school — an unrequited one— it hadn't been that difficult to remain his friend. We had kept in touch through college and spent plenty of time together during breaks without ever crossing into uncomfortable territory.

Since the day I'd returned home, however, Jake had made it his mission to convince me to let him take care of me and Max. No matter how many times I told him to back off, it always came back to that. He would ease off for awhile, but eventually, he would drop hints again and attempt to change my mind, so each encounter with him was with significant trepidation, not knowing which version of Jake I would be speaking to: my old friend or Mr. Wannabe Family Man. It had just become easier to limit how much time I spent with him.

He gathered me into a huge hug, curling his arms around my shoulders tightly as I lightly patted his back a few times indifferently before letting my hands fall limply at my sides until he let go.

"It's so good to see you again; I've missed you two. I wasn't expecting to run into you here. When did you get in town?"

He bent down to pick up Max and greet him as I answered, ignoring most of his flurry of questions.

"We just got in a couple hours ago," I said to him, reaching for Max when he held his hands out to me, taking him from Jake's arms, "and you know Charlie—empty fridge and cupboards, so I wanted to get in here to grab what we needed for Easter dinner and get out before the crowds got too bad."

I was hoping he would pick up on the hint that I was in a hurry to leave, but no such luck. "Hey, we're having a bonfire tomorrow night. You guys should come."

"Oh," I muttered lamely while I tried to think of a way to get out of it. I felt terrible, as I really did miss his friendship and hadn't seen a lot of the people I knew would be there in quite some time. "I'm not sure. I haven't talked to Charlie yet about our plans for the weekend. He hasn't seen Max in awhile, so I don't know if he has something in mind already."

I figured leaving it vague and resting the decision on an absent party would be enough, but again, no such luck. "Well, Billy already talked to him about it the other day and he seemed excited about it. He just wanted to talk to you when you got here to make sure _you_ were okay with it. So, it sounds like it's a go!"

His face lit up as he spoke, and I realized I couldn't really get out of it. "Okay, well as long as Charlie's plans haven't changed, I guess we'll see you there?"

"Excellent," he said before giving Max and I another hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I sighed again, and then laughed to myself at how each encounter with Jake seemed to be bookended with sighs. It must have been my body's way of telling me I needed to first prepare for and then de-stress from each conversation.

Max and I found a surprisingly fast moving line and headed back to the house so that I could get dinner ready before Charlie got home. Max immediately ran back out to the swing set, eager to take advantage of the rare dry day. I kept an eye on him through the window over the kitchen sink as I worked, and somewhere around the fiftieth trip down the slide, the front door opened.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie greeted as he walked into the kitchen. "Smells good in here."

I turned to give him a smile. "Hey dad. How was work?"

"You know this town, always an adventure," he joked. "Where's my favorite grandson?"

"Wearing a hole in that patch of grass at the bottom of the slide," I laughed. "I think he might be waiting for a push on the swing though," I said, giving Charlie permission to abandon me in the kitchen.

We had a nice quiet evening. Well, as quiet as one could expect when it involves a toddler who had been collecting stories to share with his Grandpa and was seemingly sharing them in one breath.

"And at soccer practice I got six goals and that was more than anyone else and coach says I'm a natural and I can't wait to play in a real game because I'm going to get more goals so that we can win because I want to win a trophy at the end of the season!" Charlie was having a tough time keeping up with Max's constant chatter and stream of run on sentences. I could have sworn he was channeling Alice.

"So, I take it you like playing soccer there, kiddo?" Charlie always kept Max talking. He wasn't much of a conversationalist himself but cherished every chat he could have since Max started talking. Fortunately for him, it didn't take much of an opening to keep Max dominating a discussion.

"Uh huh. It's lots of fun Grandpa; you should play." Charlie laughed at the suggestion as Max continued. "You get to kick the ball and run and score goals. And when I get bigger I can use my forehead like Edward does!"

Charlie guffawed loudly as I internally groaned at Charlie's next question. "Who's Edward? Your coach?"

"Huh uh, he's my new friend. He works with Mama and Emmett and Jasper and he plays soccer too! He played in the yard with me _all_ day and showed me how to be the best soccer player!"

Charlie looked up at me, one eyebrow cocked in curiosity. I rolled my eyes, taking advantage of the fact that Max had to stop to breathe, and I cut Charlie off before his imagination got the best of him. "He just started two weeks ago; he was out with Emmett and Jasper on Saturday and they all ended up stopping by the house. Now stop giving me that look."

He shook his head, chuckling as he turned his attention back to Max. Eventually, the day caught up with him and his rate of speech slowed to an almost comprehendible level. I took that as my cue to start directing Max towards the stairs. He crashed almost immediately upon resting his head on the pillow.

Charlie was cleaning up the toys that were strewn around the living room when I made my way back downstairs.

"So, Edward huh?" He didn't bother to look at me, too chicken to make eye contact.

I groaned, closing my eyes in frustration. "Dad. Really?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he tossed things into a small wicker basket. "Max seems fond of him."

"Max is obsessed with soccer right now, and Edward played through college and is willing to run laps in my yard with him; of course, he's fond of him." I gathered my and Charlie's empty glasses and headed towards the kitchen, taking a deep breath as I gripped the edge of the sink after placing the glasses inside. It was bad enough that I still hadn't made sense of what I was feeling and had spent a good bit of time trying to avoid the topic with my friends. I didn't need Charlie, of all people, adding his two cents.

After taking a second to compose myself, I turned the water on so I could wash the handful of dishes before I headed to bed myself. Charlie walked in a minute later.

"So, there's a bonfire tomorrow night," he started.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I ran into Jake at the store earlier."

"Oh? How was that?"

"Like it is every time I see him these days," I said as I rinsed out a glass. "Uncomfortable."

"Aww, Bells, take it easy on him. He just cares." I took another deep breath as I remembered yet another reason I dreaded seeing Jake was the way that Charlie seemed to defend him instantly.

"Dad, it's never going to happen between me and Jake. I wish everyone would just accept that," I pled, trying to keep the anger at bay as I continued washing. "He's just a friend. Just because he's a guy doesn't change things."

Charlie stayed in his spot, not moving closer and clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. "He cares about you. He wants to take care of you."

After yet another deep breath, I steeled myself as I shut the water off and turned to face Charlie. "So does Alice. Should I hook up with her?"

Charlie stuttered a bit, taken off guard by my response, and it took everything I had to keep a straight face, but I wasn't finished. "Just because he wants to take care of me doesn't mean I want to be taken care of. I'm doing fine; _we're_ doing fine." I softened my tone a bit before continuing. "I know you worry about me, Dad, and I appreciate it, but an emotionless relationship with _anybody_ isn't going to make my life or Max's life any better. I'm not going to break down and give in to Jake just because someone thinks it's convenient to have a man looking out for me. Convenient would be about the last thing it would be."

Charlie nodded his head, and after a few moments' hesitation, he closed the space between us to hug me. "I know. I'll back off. Logically, I know it would be a big mistake, but I'm a dad; I can't help worrying."

I just held on, arms around his waist as I let him speak. "I'm so proud of you, Bella. You're so strong. I just need to remember that and get over my old-fashioned ways and stop thinking that you need someone to take care of you, because you do a damn good job of it yourself."

His speech faltered for a moment before he began again. "Someday you'll find someone who will make your life and Max's better, and it won't just be because he's there to take care of you. You deserve to love and be loved."

I sniffled as tears filled my eyes. "Thanks, Dad."

He tightened his arms for a moment and then released me, awkwardly deciding it was the perfect time to go to bed. I shut the lights off and shuffled up to bed, succumbing to exhaustion immediately from the combination of travelling and the emotional conversation that had just taken place.


	8. How to Burn Water

**As always, thanks to Beans827 (sorry for tripping your daughter's "bad word" radar!) & Shug for beta'ing!**

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**EPOV**

"Shit! Where are you hiding, you little fucker?"

I could hear the ringing, but had yet to pinpoint from where in this mess it was coming. I was still nowhere near unpacked. Unboxed? Almost, obviously, by the stacks of crap piled on nearly every flat surface. But unpacked? Not yet. Lazy, distracted, whatever you wanted to call it, I just hadn't gotten around to finding a place for everything yet.

"Aha!" I cheered victoriously when I shifted a half empty box of winter clothes and the sound of the ringtone increased in volume. Snatching the phone and flipping it open before it went to voicemail, I answered with a slightly too loud and too abrupt "Hello."

"Edward, sweetie! I didn't interrupt you, did I?"

"Hey, Mom. No, you didn't interrupt anything at all," I reassured her. "Happy Easter."

"Happy Easter to you, too," she responded with a hint of sadness. I knew it was hard on her, not having me home today. Easter wasn't a huge holiday for our family, but we did always spend it together, and I knew that my mom, Esme, missed having her only child nearby. "So, how have you been? How's the new job? The city? The people?"

I couldn't help but laugh at her barrage of questions. "I've been great. I feel so much better than I have in a long time."

I heard her sigh on the other end. "You _sound_ so much better than you have in a long time. I've been so worried about you."

"I know, and I feel bad about that–" I started, but she interrupted my apology for causing her to be concerned.

"Don't. You were a victim of your environment. I'm just happy to hear that you're happy." She paused for a moment. "You _are_ happy, right?"

"Yeah," I breathed out. "I am happy. I almost forgot what that felt like."

She laughed at me before revisiting her earlier questions. "So, tell me about everything. It _should_ be enough for me to just know that you're happy, but I'm a nosy and selfish woman who needs to know all the details."

"Well, I'm really enjoying the new job. Everything is so laid back, like it used to be back there. No one really takes themselves too seriously. Even when I'm busy, it's pretty much stress free."

She would 'mmhmm' and 'uh huh' at random points, letting me know she was still listening as I continued describing the things I had been doing and what would be added to my workload soon.

"I'm still learning the city, so they haven't scheduled me for any remotes yet," I told her. "I'm sure those will be coming up eventually though. I'm in no hurry; I have enough to keep me busy in the office. I don't need to take a couple hours out of the day to go hang out in a parking lot or a mall."

She laughed, knowing my aversion to those types of public appearances. They were boring as hell, hanging out with clients and dealing with over-enthusiastic listeners who showed up to paw through the box of freebies while I mentally counted down to the last break.

"Well, you're the boss now so you can pawn some of those off on someone else."

"Yeah," I laughed. "I guess I could delegate."

"So, have you made any friends?" she inquired, and I laughed again.

"What is this, the first day of kindergarten?" Luckily, she has a good sense of humor and laughed with me at the absurdity of questioning a nearly thirty-year-old about making friends. "Yeah, I've been hanging out with a few people from work. I'm actually having dinner with some of them later."

"Oh, I'm so glad. I hated to think of you by yourself today." Her tone of voice matched her words. She truly did sound concerned and relieved that I wouldn't be spending the holiday alone. "I had visions of you microwaving a Hungry Man."

"Nah," I laughed. "I'm headed out in a couple hours to eat real food. No worries."

"So tell me about these friends!" Yep, just like kindergarten.

"Okay, okay," I teasingly relented. "One of the guys I do the morning show with, Jasper, his wife is cooking. Then Emmett, the other guy from the morning show, and his girlfriend Rosalie, who works in Sales at the station, will be there as well."

"Mmhmm, and—?" She said, dragging out the word 'and' as a cue for me to elaborate.

"What? You want their full biographies?" She laughed at me again as I sighed. "I don't know. They're all part of this really tight group. They're nice—just really honest and genuine people. It's so refreshing to be around people like that for once, you know?"

"I'm so glad," she said, the relief again evident in her voice. "You really need people surrounding you that you can trust, especially after everything you went through here."

"Yeah, I know." I paused for a moment as I recalled the last _friends_ I had. "Part of me thinks I should be a bit more cautious, but I honestly can't imagine any of these people being spiteful or vindictive. They're all extremely protective and supportive of each other. I feel like I've know them forever, not just a couple weeks."

"Go with your instinct; it hasn't failed you yet," she urged. "You followed your gut with your old friends and put your guard up in time to save yourself from the fallout. I know it wasn't easy cutting yourself off, but given the way they all self-destructed and tore each other down, it could have been so much worse."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I guess you're right."

Silence took over for a moment before she asked the question I was sure she was dying to ask the entire time. "So," she chirped, "has any girl out there stopped your heart yet?"

"Mom!" I choked out, while attempting to laugh the question off. I wasn't quite ready to talk about this yet, as I was still trying to figure things out for myself.

"Oh!" I could hear her clapping through the phone. "That's a yes!"

"Mom, really?" I said, trying to stall or distract.

She huffed, unwilling to let it go. "Yes, really."

I took a deep breath, exhaling in an attempt to clear my head so I could try and verbalize everything that had been on my mind. I guessed it wouldn't hurt to get her opinion. She might have some insight she could share in order to aid my plight.

"Yes, I did meet someone, but—" I started but was cut off by her excitement.

"I knew it!" She was clapping again. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

"Mom, please stop. It's not what you're thinking. Nothing is going on right now. It's…" I trailed off, trying to find the words before settling on the simplest yet most fitting word, "complicated."

She had finally calmed down, ready to listen. "How so?"

"Well," I snorted as I tried to think of how to explain it before ultimately giving her the Cliff's Note version to start, "she has a kid, and she doesn't date."

"And what are you going to do about that?" she questioned without hesitating, shocking me. I thought for sure she would be thrown off by the revelation and perhaps even warn me that pursuing things further wouldn't be the smartest idea.

I took another deep breath to clear my head. "I'm still trying to figure that out. For the time being, I'm just trying to be her friend."

"That's always the best place to start for any relationship, sweetie. Tell me about her."

I smiled at her words, subtle encouragement that I was doing the right thing. "She's amazing, Mom. Her name is Bella. She works with me, but she mostly does live entertainment. She's actually part of that group of friends I was just talking about. She's beautiful, smart, funny, caring and compassionate," I smiled as I thought about her, "and she's an incredible mother."

Mom was silent, and at first I thought maybe we'd lost the connection. When she finally spoke, I could almost hear the smile in her voice. "You're in love!"

"What? Mom!" I yelled into the phone. "Slow down! It's only been two weeks."

"Okay, okay," she retorted, as if indulging a child. "But I reserve the right to say 'I told you so' at any point."

"Fair enough," I laughed, surrendering.

"So, tell me more," she urged. "Have you met the child?"

"Yeah, last weekend we all ended up at her house, so I got to meet him," I told her. "He's a great kid, really adorable. He's three and half, and his name is Max. She actually signed him up for soccer, so he was showing off his new uniform, and I couldn't help but show off a little myself."

She laughed at me. "I'm sure you impressed the little guy."

"I think I impressed him a little too much." I chuckled, thinking about what Bella had told me happened at his first practice. "I ended up spending the afternoon teaching him a few things in the yard. God, I forgot how much fun it was when I started out. Anyway, she said he tried to take over the role as coach at his first practice because of everything I'd told him."

"He sounds absolutely delightful," she tittered. "It sounds like you're very taken with the both of them."

I paused for another clarifying breath and barely whispered, "I am."

The silent pause was more contemplative than uncomfortable, but eventually I began to tell her more. "I was so completely mesmerized watching the two of them together that day. She's raising him all by herself, and she's done an incredible job. She's so loving with him, and he's such a sweet, well-behaved, and well-mannered kid."

"His father's not around?" she queried, sounding truly interested, with perhaps a hint of concern for a woman she had never even met and had only learned about in the past five minutes. Her compassion was one of the things I loved most about Esme.

"No, he isn't. I don't know the whole story about that." I could hear her 'mmhmm' as I continued. "Emmett said he's never been a part of Max's life and that he lives somewhere on the East Coast, so she's done this without any of his help."

"Hmm, I guess I can see why you'd describe the situation as complicated," she stated. "Can I ask you one question?"

I hesitated, confused by her request. "Of course."

"Is she worth it?"

I couldn't read anything in her tone of voice, so I was naturally concerned by her intent. But I had to answer honestly. "Yes, I think so." I paused for a moment before modifying my answer. "I know she is."

Her pause made me anxious, but when she finally spoke again, all worry flew out the window.

"Fantastic!" I chuckled at the joy in her voice.

She and I talked for a little while longer until eventually I had to start getting ready to head over to Jasper and Alice's. I hung up, but not until I made promises to keep her up to date and then spoke to my dad for a little while. Luckily, he didn't feel the need to grill me on my personal life, most likely because he knew that the second he hung up with me, mom would fill him in. Our conversations tended to run quicker and more to the point than those with my mother.

I sat for a few moments, staring at the phone as I mindlessly flipped it over and over in one hand. So far, I had been given the green light by just about everyone except the person I needed it from the most. Each day was getting easier. We were becoming more and more comfortable with each other. I could still sense a great deal of hesitance coming from her, but I didn't sense that she had an urge to flee. I had been making a conscious effort all week to test the boundaries: small touches, teasing shoulder bumps, any contact I could make with her without pushing too far too fast. With each new contact between our bodies, she seemed more at ease than the last.

It all ended up being just as much a test for me as it was for her. Although I needed to know how far I could push things with her without scaring her, I found it difficult to hold myself back. It took all my strength to pull back when all I wanted to do was hold her closer, or just hold her at all. Innocent brushes and touches were not enough to sate. I had to constantly remind myself that I needed to move slowly, ease her into the idea.

I found it so hard to read her, which only made it more difficult. Most of the time, there wasn't a discernable difference between the way she was with me and the way she was with anyone else. Other times, I would swear I could see something flickering behind her eyes. Each time that she would take a slow deep breath at one of my touches, as if trying to calm herself, hope would mount that she truly was as affected by me as I was by her and everything else was simply an effort to disguise her feelings.

While thinking over everything, I managed to get a few boxes worth of clothes put into drawers before I headed over to Jasper and Alice's townhouse. I walked up to the door and gave a few sharp raps before stepping back a bit. Seconds later, the door swung open to reveal a bouncing Alice clapping her hands and chirping, "You made it!"

I laughed and mockingly bounced up and down and clapped along with her. She stopped immediately, hands fisted on her hips while she cocked one eyebrow up, glaring in my direction. I laughed harder at the twitch at the corner of her mouth as she fought off a laugh of her own. It was testament to how comfortable and included this group made me feel that I could, without thinking, step right in and initiate good-natured teasing.

She sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes, relenting, as she moved aside to allow me in. As I stepped past the threshold, I told her seriously, "Thank you for inviting me, Alice. It means a lot."

She sighed again and groaned. "Ugh, now I can't stay mad at you, Cullen. You're welcome."

She took my jacket, hanging it up as she directed me towards the kitchen where Jasper was waiting with a beer held out for me. "You're gonna need it."

I shot him a confused look as I took the bottle from his outstretched hand. "She's been waiting to get you alone, without Bella around to overhear, to 'chat' with you." The accompanying laugh proved that he found it entertaining.

Alice bounded into the kitchen as I took notice of all the food laid out. Trays of veggies and dips, bowls of chips, and dozens of cookies covered the counter. It didn't even include the actual dinner. "Wow, you really went all out Alice."

Jasper burst into laughter, earning a glare from Alice. "Hell, she can't take credit for any of it except maybe for masterfully opening bags of chips and emptying them into those bowls over there."

"I helped!" she argued, hands once again fisted on her hips. She turned to me, features softening as she spoke. "Yeah, so I'm not exactly known for my cooking. Bella was here all Thursday evening baking cookies, making dips, and prepping the side dishes."

"And don't forget you've been phone tagging with her all morning to get the rest of it done," Jasper teased. As if on cue, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Alice answered. "Already? Are you sure? Okay, okay. Hang on."

She tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder as she opened the oven, pulling the rack out to check the ham before continuing to talk. "Yep. Yeah. Wait, what am I looking for? Oh, okay I've got it now. So it's done? Great!"

Jasper shook his head, then nodded in Alice's direction. "See what I mean?"

"Did Bella have to walk her through every step?" I asked, though I wasn't paying much attention to him. My thoughts were focused on the woman at the other end of that line and wondering what she was doing, aside from guiding Alice through dinner prep.

"Yeah, if you want the food to be edible, you need someone to hold Alice's hand through the process." His eyes widened and posture straightened. I followed his gaze over to Alice who stood glaring at him, the phone now abandoned on the counter, conversation over.

"I heard that."

He fidgeted nervously, sweating. "Um, sorry?"

"You will be," she warned. Before I could even process movement, she turned to me and grabbed my wrist as she led me out of the kitchen. I looked back at Jasper over my shoulder to see him grinning evilly as he held his beer in the air as if saying, 'I warned you.'

"So," Alice chirped, as she pushed me down into the couch and took a seat on the opposite end and turned to face me. "we have so much to talk about."

"Oh, really? And what would that be?" I asked her, deciding to make her work for it a bit before giving in to the talk that was inevitable.

"Don't play coy with me," she admonished. "You're interested in Bella."

"Obviously," I agreed, not bothering to try and argue the point, as I tipped my beer bottle in her direction to cue her to continue.

"Let me just tell you a little about the Bella I've known for more than a decade." I gave her a small nod to indicate I was listening. "The first thing you need to know is she's completely fucking oblivious. She always has been. It took me awhile to realize that she wasn't just trying to be modest when she wouldn't acknowledge that guys were paying attention to her. She honestly believed they were _only_ being polite, that they were just being nice so they could get closer to one of her friends, or that they were just friends themselves. Typically she's very good at reading people, but if it involves her, forget it."

I listened intently as she continued speaking. "I'm telling you this because it's going to be a huge hurdle. It's obvious to all of us how you feel about her, but when you're ready to make a move, you're going to have to be very blunt about it; otherwise, she's going to completely overlook it or justify it as simply a friendly gesture."

I thought about the implications of what Alice had just told me. On one hand, I was relieved knowing that if I did slip up, as I nearly did quite regularly these days, Bella wouldn't read into it and freak out. On the other hand, I was trying to figure out how in the fuck I could make an obvious gesture without scaring the shit out of her.

"I know that you've already been informed that she doesn't date and that Max is the main reason for that. A week and a half ago I would have called that your biggest hurdle, but that kid idolizes you now. You've already won him over."

I didn't even bother trying to prevent the smile from taking over my face, though I was unable to bring myself to look at Alice and instead focused on the pattern on the fabric of the couch.

"He's a great kid," I stated when I was finally able to look up.

"He is. And like I said, he has a serious case of hero worship with you." She reached over and nudged the knee that was bent on the couch with the side of her fist. "Thursday night when they were over here, he couldn't stop talking about soccer, and your name came up about every three sentences."

My heart swelled and Alice continued talking. "So Max isn't going to be a problem. Oh, she'll still rely on him as an excuse at first, but with as fond as he is, it'll be a flimsy excuse at best and become useless to her. We just need to figure out how to tear down those walls. Although… you are making quite a bit of progress already."

"Really?" I asked her, taken completely by surprise. "How do you know?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes at me while she shook her head. "I've known the girl for a while now, but even that much time isn't required to notice the changes. She may not admit it if anyone confronted her about it, but she lights up when you're near. Her eyes have a tendency to find you in a room, and when they don't, it's obvious that she is making a conscious effort not to seek you out because she knows we're watching."

I laughed at Alice, knowing exactly what she meant. None of them had been too discreet about observing and judging our interactions.

"I'm not around nearly as much as everyone else is and yet it's still plain as day to me." She paused for a second, and a smug grin took over her features.

"She blushes more than ever when I try and grill her about you," she loudly whispered conspiratorially as she winked. "I'll admit, I've tried to set her up more times than I can count, and every single time I'd ask her about the guy, she'd argue with me that she wasn't interested. It was always genuine. Now? She just tells me to drop it or back off and then blushes like mad."

"So you really believe it's different this time?" I questioned, hopefully. My heart was beating rapidly, and I was so full of nervous energy that I redirected by picking at the label on the beer bottle still in my hand.

"I know it's different," she answered honestly. "I want you to know that you're not just next on the list of guys I've tried to get her to go out with. I'm sure it makes you feel uncomfortable hearing about that, but I need you to know that all those attempts were simply to get her out of the house and to socialize. Excluding this small group of friends, she has really neglected her social life. If you don't count when she's with us or Max, she has basically turned into a hermit since moving home. It breaks my heart to watch her spending day after day, night after night, alone. I just wanted to get her out of the house when I suggested everyone else."

She was right. Hearing about a list of interested men wasn't the most comfortable feeling in the world. Even though Bella had turned every one of them down, knowing there was this long list of potential dates that had come before me left an uneasy feeling in my gut. I did understand where Alice was coming from, though. Her actions were driven by concern for a friend who seemed to be shutting herself off from the world.

"But you're different. It's not just about getting her out of the house. There's something there; you can almost feel it just by being in the same room with you two. It's practically tangible. You'll be good for her, and I know I don't know a lot about you yet, but I think she'll be good for you too."

I simply nodded and focused again on the pattern of the couch as everything Alice had just told me ran through my head. Before either of us could say anything more, the door swung open to reveal Emmett and Rosalie, the noise in the room increasing tenfold.

"Hey hey, we made it. The party can officially start."

Rosalie rolled her eyes at Emmett's over the top bravado as she walked over to where Alice and I were sitting and dropped herself onto Alice's lap. "Remind me again why I put up with him?"

Alice grunted at the force of Rosalie's body falling onto her legs and pushed as hard as she could until Rosalie, laughing, shifted to the middle of the couch in the space between me and Alice. "Because you love him. God, your bony ass hurts!"

Alice massaged her thigh as Rosalie laughed harder. Jasper and Emmett joined us moments later.

"Don't sit!" Alice yelled at the two, throwing a hand up in a stop motion in their direction as she jumped up off the couch. "Dinner should be ready."

Looking like two lost puppies, Emmett and Jasper just turned around without saying a word and followed Alice. I didn't make a move to stand immediately and neither did Rosalie. "So, did you get the best friend speech?"

"I guess I did," I said with a laugh and taking a sip from the nearly empty bottle. "She gave me a lot to think about."

"Can you handle a little more?" she asked. I simply nodded and waved my hand for her to continue.

"Since her two honorary big brothers in there have failed at their job," she started as she pointed a thumb in the direction that Jasper and Emmett had just walked, "I guess it's up to me. It's only fitting; I am far more frightening than either of them."

"That you are," I agreed.

"You hurt her, I hurt you." The stern look on her face faded after a few seconds as she patted my knee twice before using it as leverage to push herself into a standing position.

I got up, following behind her. "That's what I like about you, Rose. No one ever has to question where they stand with you."

She turned around, eyes full of mirth. "Damn right. Now let's eat."

Things were pretty quiet as everyone filled their plates and dug in, but eventually we fell into easy conversation.

"Excellent work, short stuff," said Emmett as he mumbled through a mouthful and loaded a second plate.

"Thanks. I kick ass at heat-and-eat," Alice said to congratulate herself. "One of these days I might actually try and learn how to make something from the start."

"Oh please, Alice," Rosalie responded with a scoff, laughing at her. "You could burn water."

Jasper choked as he attempted to hold off laughing until he could swallow the food he had been chewing. He cleared his throat once, chuckling as he said, "Actually, she _has_ burned water."

Alice simply shrugged nonchalantly and continued buttering a roll as the rest of the table joined in with Jasper's laughter as he stood up from the table and walked to the kitchen. Moments later, he returned, showing off a small sauce pan with scorch marks covering most of the outside.

"Yeah, well," Alice began, one eyebrow cocked up with an impish smile directed at Jasper and her tone heavy with implication. "If someone hadn't _distracted_ me, I wouldn't have forgotten I had water boiling."

"Yeah," he sighed the word and paired it with a wicked grin. "Totally worth it."

As soon as everyone finished eating, we moved back into the living room. I dropped myself down into a chair as Alice and Rosalie wrestled over the remote, arguing over what to watch. Emmett snuck up behind the two and plucked the remote from both of their hands while they were distracted.

"Hey, we got some comps in for the Mariners," Emmett stated as he flipped the television to ESPN. "You're coming with us."

"Sounds like a plan." I laughed, clearly not having a choice in the matter. "When?"

"Not sure," Jasper jumped in. "We get at least a few tickets to most games—usually a dozen or more—so we just need to find out which ones aren't already spoken for and then see what works for us."

"Yeah, we'll dig through them this week and see which games jump out at us," Emmett finished without taking his eyes off of the screen in front of him. "Look at this idiot," he yelled out, pointing to the story about a football player busted with drugs at the airport. "You're about as fucking high profile as they come. Do you really think you can just walk through airport security with that shit? People are curious about your every move, so of course they're going to pay closer attention to what you have in your bags."

Alice's cell phone rang a short while later, and she squealed as she picked it up, immediately putting it on speaker before laying it on the coffee table in front of her.

"Happy Easter!" she called out.

A small giggle echoed through the phone and parroted a "Happy Easter" back to her.

Emmett muted the television as everyone's attention focused on that tiny phone and the tiny person at the other end of it.

"Hey, little man, how was your weekend?" Emmett asked Max.

Max immediately started replaying events, filling us in on the minute details. "I'm having lots of fun! The Easter Bunny was here, and I got lots of chocolate and candy and some new toys. And last night we had a fire …" A collective gasp echoed through the room, interrupting him until we heard Bella laugh in the background trying to clarify _bon_fire.

"A bonfire," he repeated. "And I had marshmallows and cooked a hot dog on a stick and played on the beach. I wasn't allowed to go in the water because it was too cold."

We all chuckled at the disappointment in his voice. He rambled on for a few more minutes before deciding that he needed to teach his Grandpa how to play Elefun, a gift from the Easter Bunny. The line rattled as he handed the phone off to Bella. "Hey, everybody!"

Everyone shouted their hellos into the phone before Alice dominated conversation. "So, you didn't tell me about the bonfire earlier."

"Because there was a purpose to my calls earlier, Al," she said with a sigh and then laughed. "It's not like you missed anything exciting. Max pretty much covered it. Hot dogs, marshmallows, sand."

"How was Jake?" Alice asked warily and Bella groaned. "That bad?"

"No worse than usual," she said, slightly sarcastically. "I finally have Charlie on my side though."

"Really? How did you manage that?" Alice asked, bewildered.

Bella burst into laughter. "At first, he argued that Jake just wanted to take care of me." My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as Alice looked over at me and winked as she shook her head slightly as if to tell me not to worry about a thing. I nodded at her as Bella continued. "So I told him that you care about me too, Alice, and asked if that meant I should hook up with you."

The room erupted into laughter, Emmett louder than the rest as he jumped into conversation. "I would have loved to have seen the look on the Chief's face when you hit him with that."

"I've taught you well," Rosalie interjected. "You're becoming a proper smartass."

A loud gasp shot through the phone, and Bella started yelling out a stream of partial curses. "Holy, mother of, what the –"

We all exchanged glances, none of us able to guess at what happened. A tiny laugh and a larger guffaw boomed through the phone once Bella quieted. "I got you, Mama!"

"Dad!" she yelled, but even through the phone it was obvious that she was trying not to laugh. "Just because you're a cop doesn't mean you have to train him to be a sniper!"

The deep laugh from earlier repeated as he asked, "Are you talking to Alice again?"

"Yeah, everyone's at her place so I was just catching up," Bella responded to him. Her tone took a mischievous turn as she continued. "In fact, I was just getting ready to tell them that you were looking awfully cozy with Sue by that fire last night."

"Shut up!" Alice gleefully yelled.

"Uh," the voice mumbled. "Hey Max? Why don't we take that water gun outside for a little while?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Bella giggled before giving her attention back to us. "Sorry about that. I just got drenched by the gun that the Easter Bunny left last night. Freakin' ice cold water, too."

"Hope you're not wearing a white shirt," Jasper teased.

"Actually …" she trailed off as I dropped my head into my hands, trying to stave off the mental image and the impending stirring down below.

"Well, I should probably let you all go. I need to finish cleaning up here and get the last of our things packed up. Apparently, I need a new shirt now, too," she grumbled. "We're heading out within the hour, so we won't be back until late tonight."

We each said our goodbyes, telling her to drive safely before she hung up. Everyone stuck around for a little while longer before we started calling it a night ourselves. I was getting ready to say my goodbyes to Alice and Jasper as Emmett and Rosalie walked out the door when Alice pulled me to the side once again.

"We didn't really get to finish our talk earlier," she said, seriousness lacing her voice. "Like I said before, I truly think that you two would be good for each other, but please keep in mind that she's really out of practice and her last relationship wasn't exactly a model example."

I nodded. "I understand. I know it won't be easy for her if she decides to take a chance. She's too dependent on being independent and it'll take some getting used to. I'm willing to be as patient as she needs me to be."

A sincere smile crossed Alice's face. "Thank you. She's so important to me, and I couldn't bear to see her go through anything bad again. I don't think she could survive it a second time around. I don't think _I_ could survive watching her go through it again. She was such a wreck when I flew out to bring her home and what she had with that asshole was nowhere near the potential that I see here."

"What happened, Alice?" I whispered. The sadness in her eyes as she remembered nauseated me.

She sniffled once before smiling up at me, resting a hand on my arm. "Just ask her. She'll tell you. She trusts you. It doesn't bother her as much now as it did when she was in the middle of it all. In fact, she laughs about it now. It just took a whole lot of tears to reach that level of clarity and comfort with what happened."

I nodded again in understanding before hugging her and whispering into her ear, "Thanks, Alice."

She pulled me in tighter and whispered back, "You're going to make each other happy. I just know it."


	9. Can't Be Mine

**As always, thanks again to Shug and Beans827 for betaing this thing!  
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****BPOV**

Monday wasn't exactly off to the best start, and I was ready to share my irritation as I pushed open the studio door with a little more force than necessary. Three heads snapped in my direction with matching looks of confusion over my dramatic entrance.

Emmett broke the silence first, his statement coming out more like a question. "Um, you look nice today?"

"This wasn't exactly my first choice," I grumbled. Granted, I knew my death glares weren't earned by anyone in this room, but at this point I needed to vent some frustration and they happened to be the closest targets and, by default, the unlucky recipients.

"Oh no. She went through with it, didn't she?" I looked up to see a wide-eyed Jasper connecting the dots.

"If you mean clear out my closet and drawers of everything that isn't a dress or skirt, then yes. She did."

Max and I had pulled back into the driveway at around midnight the previous night. By the time I carried him to his room, sound asleep, and then trekked back out to the car to bring our bags in, I'd been completely exhausted. I'd been too tired to even deal with pajamas, stripping down to my underwear and leaving my tee shirt on before falling into bed.

It hadn't been until this morning, after my shower, that I realized I had been raided.

"Alice strikes again," Emmett guffawed, this time fully earning his death glare.

"Apparently, I need to padlock my closet when I leave town. She took everything. I don't even have flat shoes aside from what I had with me this weekend. She only left behind shoes with heels." I pointed at the ridiculous heel I was precariously balanced upon. "I have running to do for the venues this week, and I can't do that in heels!"

I vented for another ten minutes, feeling much better, though still irritated when I was finished. We eventually moved to other topics of conversation, primarily catching up on each others' long weekends.

A few minutes before ten, Kate walked in to get ready for her shift. "Hey, you look nice!"

I mumbled under my breath, brooding again, and stormed toward the door as the guys laughed. I heard Jasper explain my reaction to Kate with a simple, "Alice," to which Kate laughed heartily. As I walked out of the studio, I could hear the guys getting up from their places and gathering their things to head out as well.

I was in my own little world so I didn't hear anyone approach as I was unlocking my office door until I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I jumped slightly, startled that Edward was so close without me realizing it sooner.

"For what it's worth, regardless of the circumstances, you really do look nice."

He flashed that damn crooked grin before walking away, leaving me in stunned silence. I looked down at my brown wrap dress with new appreciation as I finally managed to unlock the door.

As much as I wanted to spend time analyzing those few seconds at the door, I didn't have time to dwell on that moment with him. I had a number of things I needed to start working on right away. Peter's idea to do a show around the holidays left me with a lot of work to do in a small amount of time to see if it was something we could pull off. I spent most of the morning calling various agents to find out who they had available for the potential dates that Peter had flagged for the event and compiling a list for him to look over so we could get the ball rolling.

Between calls, I had been trying to figure out how to get my things back from Alice. After venting this morning, I had moved on from being angry, and now I was ready for a little challenge. Judging by Jasper's reaction, I could safely assume that she hadn't taken my clothes into the house. There was no way he would have missed that. The safe bet was that everything was locked up in her trunk, hidden from both him and me, until I learned whatever lesson she was trying to teach.

I was quite sure that lesson was on how to look pretty for new co-workers.

I eventually came up with a plan, but I still needed to figure out how to put it in motion. I was stalking the halls near Jasper and Emmett's office, trying to assess the situation and form my plan of attack. I paced back and forth, running through various scenarios in my head, hoping at least one of them would get me to my goal.

"You look like you're up to no good."

I gasped and flinched, caught off guard for the second time that day by Edward sneaking up on me. My hand rested on my chest just below my throat, doing little to calm my racing heart. I playfully backhanded his shoulder with the other hand. "Stop sneaking up on me!"

He laughed as he pulled his shoulder out of the line of fire. My heart beat in a staccato rhythm at the child-like innocence of his amusement and how it made him appear even more handsome than usual. I turned back away, staring again in the general direction of my target.

"So, really," he began, "what's with all the stealth?"

I eyed him sideways, eyes narrowed and lips pursed in thought. "Where do your loyalties lie?"

"Depends on what you're planning," he said, his tone dropping seductively, causing my breath to catch in my throat. I quickly recovered, grabbing his upper arm, trying not to focus on the feel of his muscles flexing in my grip, and dragging him a few feet down the hall, across to the opposite wall where we had a better view.

Without taking my eyes off of the doorway ahead, I whispered, "I need you to distract Jasper. Get him out of the office for a few minutes."

"Any particular reason?" He seemed entertained by my low rate spy movie re-enactment.

"I'm going on a recovery mission. I need to get Alice's spare key off of his key ring and can't risk him giving her a heads up that I'm on my way."

He laughed out loud and I quietly shushed him as I asked, "Are you going to help or not?"

He shook his head, amused. "Sure, give me a minute. You might want to get out of view, though. You look guilty as hell standing out here."

I nodded as I ducked around the corner, watching him head toward the office just before that section of hallway was out of view. A minute later, I heard Edward and Jasper talking as they walked off in the opposite direction.

I quickly made my way into the office and looked around for the keys. I checked on the desk, in the drawers, and on various flat surfaces around the desk, coming up with nothing. I stood, pensive, as I looked around the office then hit myself in the forehead with the heel of my hand when I realized I missed the most obvious spot. I took the five steps over to the door and grabbed the jacket from the hook on the back. Shoving my hand in one pocket, I came up with nothing. I hit the jackpot on the second pocket, instantly hearing the clatter of keys. Pulling the ring out quickly, I found the key I needed and worked it off the hoop. After shoving the remaining keys back into the pocket and hanging the jacket on the back of the door where I had found it, I peeked my head out of the door to make sure the coast was clear before speed-walking back to my office.

I had just picked up my purse when a head of bronze hair appeared around my doorway.

"Mission accomplished?"

I grinned up at him, opening my palm to display the key. "Phase one was a success. Now, I just have to get as much of her trunk unloaded and into my car before she busts me in the parking lot."

He tossed his own keys up in the air and caught them with a cocky smile. "That's what you have me for."

I furrowed my brow and cocked my head to the side, realizing too late that I probably looked like a confused Labrador.

"I'm driving," he said as he jerked his head, directing me to follow him. "She won't recognize my car; it might buy you a little more time. Plus, with two people working I bet we can get most, if not all, of it unloaded before she catches on."

"Hmm, you're sneaky," I commented appraisingly. "You'll fit in well with us."

As we passed Angela, I stopped to have her cover for us. After promising that she wouldn't tell anyone that she had seen us, we stepped onto the elevator and made our way to ground level.

"I'll run and get my car and pick you up out front," he offered.

"Where are you parked?"

"Back in the garage by my apartment, about a block away."

"I know I'm a massive klutz, but I think I can handle walking a block." We both looked down at my shoes at the same time, then laughed at the heels. "Okay, so it might be risky, but I'm feeling extra daring today. Lead the way."

It was so easy to talk to him as we made our way down the sidewalk. In no time, we made it to the garage and stopped next to a small silver car where he opened a door for me. I gave him a curious look before getting in.

"A Volvo? How very sensible of you."

He rolled his eyes at my teasing. "Just get in, woman!"

I laughed loudly. "Gee, and here I thought I was the only soccer mom in the group."

He raised one eyebrow at me before finally shaking his head in defeat and laughing. He shut the door and walked to the driver's side to get in.

We pulled out of the garage, and I directed him through the streets, showing him the fastest way to Alice's salon. Between indicating lefts, rights and straights, we filled the time talking.

"So, is this normal behavior for Alice?" he asked, seemingly still amused by the entire situation.

I sighed before I began speaking. "Pretty much, although this is a new extreme for her. Usually it's just one or two pieces of my wardrobe that she has taken particular offense with, never the majority of what I own. She has been known to take things and 'accidentally' spill hair color on them at work so that I can't wear them again, so I'm a little afraid of what I might find when we get there."

"She's a little scary in her own way, isn't she?" he laughed.

"You have no idea."

"You two are very close," he observed. "I mean, for her to be ballsy enough to pull a stunt like this, and for you to handle it with a good sense of humor like you are, I guess you'd have to be pretty close."

"Yeah," I agreed. "We've been through a lot together. She got me through high school when I was floundering to figure out where I fit in at a new school and all the drama that ensued there. Then we went off to college together. Even when I moved away we were still close, maybe closer than ever considering how she was there for me when everything fell apart."

I swallowed thickly, remembering those days when she had flown out to help me. I took a deep breath to shake it off and laughed as I exhaled. "Wow, when I say it like that it sounds like I only keep her around to clean up my messes."

I looked over at him as he gave a half-hearted smile and politely laughed with me, but I could see the questions burning behind his eyes. After a moment, his smile turned genuine. "Nah, anyone with half a brain can see it's more than that. She needs you as much as you need her."

I thought the moment had passed, that he had moved on from his questions, until I heard his voice catch a couple times. I looked over to see his mouth open and close, as if trying to figure out the best way to word something that he wanted to say. It wasn't that I had a problem sharing my story. Some of it was fairly amusing in hindsight, but I was always wary when first telling anybody what happened. There always seemed to be two possible reactions when hearing it: accepting it and laughing with me, understanding that going through it had made me the person I'd become, or feeling sorry for the poor girl who had been cruelly pushed away to raise a child on her own. The last thing I needed was pity. It may not have been the ideal way for things to happen, but even at its worst, it had been a small price to pay to have Max in my life.

"Can I ask you something?" he finally managed to say, though with a great amount of hesitance in his voice.

I decided to rescue him so he wouldn't have to say the words that I knew were making him feel uncomfortable. "You want to know about Max's father and what happened?"

He gripped the steering wheel, clearly nervous, as I motioned to an exit we would need to take. "You don't have to tell me anything. Just tell me to fuck off if I've crossed a line. Shit, of course I crossed a line. It's none of my business. Never mind."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his anxiety and put a hand on his forearm as he held tightly onto the wheel. "It's okay."

He looked over at me, gauging my reaction to see if I was serious that it truly wasn't a problem. Apparently, he found what he was looking for, because he visibly relaxed as I began. "Well, if you listen to office gossip, their stories are much more interesting."

I laughed and noticed his reaction, his head slightly ducked down with a hint of that earlier unease. I laughed harder. "Who got to you? Lauren? Jessica? Yet to be named third party?"

"Lauren," he mumbled, relaxing once he realized I wasn't offended or upset. "I gathered she was full of shit and essentially told her as much. She was just pissed earlier today because she booked me for a remote, and I agreed to do it but turned down her invitation to dinner afterward."

I was still chuckling at the situation but was immediately curious as to how the topic had shifted while he was talking to Lauren from a remote and dinner invitation to my son's parentage. I filed that one away to pick apart later, along with why this strange rock had formed in the pit of my stomach at the knowledge that Lauren had asked him out. "So which version did you get? That Emmett's really the father and everything else is a big cover-up?"

"Yeah, actually. That was pretty much it exactly." He nervously pushed one of his hands through his hair, and all I could figure was that he still wasn't sure that I really was all right with this topic of conversation.

"Yeah, that seems to be the standard version now. There have been a few variations, but at its core, it's almost always the same. Especially once they got a glimpse of Max's dimples. I'm sure you can tell that with this group of friends, we're all pretty close." He nodded as I continued. "That was pretty much instantaneous when I started working, especially with Emmett, who appointed himself my 'big brother' almost from day one. Well, I wasn't showing yet when I started, but as soon as word got out, a few people decided to fill in the blanks."

We shared a knowing glance, both silently acknowledging who those few people were. "They had some really creative options; I have to give them credit for that."

We both laughed as I continued. "It started with Emmett and I having had this long running secret affair and him getting me a job so he wouldn't have to support me. God, I was so terrified of Rosalie when those rumors started! They weren't officially together yet, but everyone knew it was pretty much a done deal with them. Luckily, she knew exactly what Lauren and Jessica were like, even without knowing my personal history with them, and she found the stories just as humorous. The fact that she and I got along so well and ended up turning it into our own inside joke led to the next version, which had me in the middle of a love triangle with those two."

He burst into laughter as the stories became more ridiculous. "Oh, but it didn't stop there! You mentioned earlier how close Alice and I are. Well, once I introduced her to Jasper, she started hanging around more, popping in and out of the office. Of course, Lauren and Jessica knew how close she and I were, which led to word spreading that Alice and I had been together since high school and decided to extend the family with the help of a donor."

I paused for a moment before adding, "I'm sure you can understand how devastated I was when she ditched me to marry Jasper."

We continued to laugh until it finally died down, both of us knowing that the only thing left was the truth.

"So, what's the real story?" His voice was soft and concerned. His eyes left the road to meet mine, and I was taken aback by the level of compassion I could see in them. For what seemed like the longest time, I was absorbed in his stare until I finally pulled myself together just in time to see that we needed to make another turn. I pointed to the ramp ahead as he turned his attention back to the road and signaled.

"What really happened was that I wasted a year and a half with someone I barely had lukewarm feelings for and was told there was no way he could be the father."

Silence filled the car. This was always that defining moment where I could assess which way a person would go. I looked over, watching and waiting, hoping to see anything but pity. I couldn't fully decipher the look in his eyes. Kindness, compassion, and something I was unable determine, but I definitely didn't see pity. That was all I needed to continue.

"His name was Chad, though I prefer to call him my 'bad Afterschool Special.'" We both chuckled at that as I picked nervously at my cuticles.

"The relationship was on its last legs for awhile. About a month or so after we officially broke up, I found out I was pregnant. I didn't want to say anything until I had confirmation from a doctor. Alice was the only person I told after the home tests all showed positive. I went in, had everything confirmed, found out a due date, and they gave me an estimated date of conception."

I let out a breath as I remembered everything. "It took me about a week to work up the nerve to tell him. I wasn't exactly expecting a good reaction. I mean, it's a shock to anybody, but I wasn't expecting the reaction I got either."

He jerked his head in my direction, eyes blazing, and at first I thought it was directed at me, but I couldn't figure out why. I replayed my words and realized it was in reaction to what I had said, probably running through worst case scenarios.

"He immediately denied that it was his. I just sat there while he tried to rationalize, insisting I must've been with someone else. I think he had himself convinced that was the case pretty quickly." I laughed humorlessly, remembering how desperate he was to lay the blame elsewhere. "I didn't say much. I just let him go until he calmed down, because I knew that nothing would get accomplished until the shock wore off and I would be wasting my breath if I were to try and argue."

I could feel Edward's stare but kept my eyes forward. I was getting to the part of the story that tended to trip people up. "Once he stopped rambling, I pulled out all the paperwork from the doctor's office. I made sure I had some sort of written proof of dates before I'd left the office that day for a little extra credibility. I pointed out the date that they had estimated for conception, showing him that it fell perfectly into that time frame that was the tail end of our relationship, our last few times together."

This time my chuckle was genuine at the memory. "He looked it all over for a minute before shoving it back at me. He started rambling again about there's no way it could be his kid because I was on the pill."

I stopped for a moment to let that sink in. I looked over to see a familiar reaction, confusion and an attempt to make sense of my words. It usually took people a minute to work through why it didn't sound quite right.

"Wait," he started. "You had confirmation of when it hap –"

"You figured it out?" I asked, trying to stifle the laugh.

He looked over, brows furrowed and starting to show signs of humor at my reaction. "That makes no sense. Obviously the pill was ineffective, you couldn't get any more concrete evidence of that, so _why_ couldn't it be his?"

I laughed out loud, "Exactly!"

He laughed with me a little as I continued to giggle. "He was just so desperate to not be held responsible that he clung to any explanation he could think of, regardless of how flimsy. I always have this mental image of him sitting there talking to my pills and giving them a pep talk. 'Okay, listen up. I need you to have my back. I don't care what you do about anyone else, but do not let any of my guys through. Deal?'"

He laughed loudly at my impression.

"God, I can't believe I wasted so much time with someone so stupid." I wiped a tear from my eye as I continued. "I think Max is already more intelligent. Thankfully, he didn't seem to inherit much from him beyond ears and dimples."

The laughter stalled again as Edward looked over at me again. "So what happened? I mean, obviously he's not a part of your lives. Do you think he'll ever be?"

"We argued constantly, but he refused to acknowledge that he was the father. A lot of pretty hurtful words were slung my way, and quite a few mutual friends—or at least I thought they were mutual friends—turned against me. I quickly realized that we didn't need someone like that in our lives, regardless of any claim he might have via DNA."

He was quiet as he listened, nodding as I spoke in a show of understanding. "That was when I decided to move. I wanted Max to grow up near family and away from anyone who would hold the situation over his head. It was either back here or to Florida near my mom and stepdad. Alice tipped the scales in favor of coming back to Washington, and once I got the job offer from Peter, it was a no-brainer."

We were getting closer to Alice's building as we moved through the suburbs. "As far as him ever being a part of our lives, it won't happen. This job helped me make sure of that. I didn't want anything from him, not even child support. I just wanted to cut all ties, and the salary I was offered gave me enough security to be comfortable and not need his help in any form."

I was questioned regularly on why I hadn't pursued child support. It was a difficult decision to make. Part of me wanted to hold him responsible. The other part didn't want to force someone to be in my son's life who didn't want to be there. A monthly check wasn't worth the rejection he would most likely face at the hands of one of the two people who were supposed to love him the most. I was making enough money that I didn't need his. I could comfortably support myself and Max.

"We never bothered with a paternity test. I knew the truth, and that was enough for me. A test would have been a waste of time. I didn't want him in our lives, and he didn't want to be there. I got in touch with an attorney, and he got the paperwork lined up to terminate his parental rights."

Edward listened intently while keeping an eye on the road. "He fought me at first. I think he panicked that he was receiving legal forms that linked him to Max and didn't actually think it through. He just kept arguing that I was never going to get anything from him. It took me forever to get the idiot to realize I didn't want anything from him and that the paperwork ensured he wouldn't be obligated in any way, ever. He finally took it to an attorney on his own, who basically reiterated what I said, and he finally signed it."

"This guy wasn't the sharpest mind, was he?" Edward laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "I think he drank most of his brain cells to death. I don't know what I was thinking. He was the stereotypical frat boy."

I quickly amended, "No offense if you were in a frat."

"Actually, I was," he said, shooting a look of mock offense my way.

"No, really. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that if you ever wonder where the stereotype came from you just needed to spend two minutes with him. He's the guy that every normal guy in a fraternity should be pissed at for making them look bad."

"No offense taken," he said, glancing over at me with a crooked grin. He chuckled for a moment before shaking his head. "The mental image that I have now of this guy …"

I laughed as he trailed off before starting to speak again. "I'm still stuck back on the 'can't be his kid because you were on the pill' thing."

I giggled since that part of the story still amused me even four years later. "Yeah, apparently he missed the memo that birth control isn't 100% effective." I was silent for a few seconds before chuckling. "It's even less effective when the pharmaceutical company forgets to add the active ingredients."

"Holy fuck!"

I burst into laughter at his response and the fact that the car jerked just a little bit. His wide-eyed look of shock didn't do a thing to ease my laughter either.

"Yeah, I didn't find out until after Max was born." I didn't go into detail about that shocking phone call since we were nearing Alice's salon, so I directed him to drive past so that I could scope out the parking lot and figure out the plan of attack.

Right off the bat I noticed that Alice was parked off to the side a little. I hoped this would buy us a little more time, but she had parked the car in front of a window and if one of her employees happened to be looking out then they would no doubt inform her immediately.

Edward drove about a block past the building and turned around in a bank parking lot. He pulled in behind her car and pulled forward so that his trunk was close to hers. We both jumped out quickly, and he popped his trunk while I took the pilfered key and opened hers.

Jackpot.

Inside her trunk were baskets and bags of clothes and shoes. She had everything packed neatly, making our job even easier. We immediately started working together. There was little room to move so, as I pulled things out, I handed them to him to throw into his trunk. We worked seamlessly for a couple minutes as her trunk emptied and his filled up.

I was grabbing the last two bags when I heard Edward. "Abort mission!"

I looked up to see him staring past me, so I turned to follow his line of sight. Alice was opening the door and walking quickly toward us. I hastily threw the bags in his trunk just before he slammed it closed. We both ran to the sides of the car, jumping in while he turned the ignition allowing the Volvo to roar to life.

"Seatbelt!" he yelled as he threw the car into drive and peeled out of the lot, eyes barely leaving the rear view mirror, keeping a constant watch on Alice to see if she would try to follow.

I clicked my seatbelt into place and turned around to look out the back window. Alice was standing in the middle of the parking lot with one fist on her hip and her cell phone attached to her ear. Seconds later when my phone rang, Edward and I both looked from my purse on the floor to each other and burst into laughter.

I dug the phone out, flipping it open. "Did you really think I wouldn't try and get my things back?"

I didn't wait for a response. I pressed the red button, ending the call before directing Edward out of the neighborhood and toward my house.

We spent the drive to my house laughing and reliving our near miss, the story getting funnier with each recap. We eventually pulled into my driveway, and I hopped out to unlock the front door so that we could unload everything back into the house. On our last trip to the car, the next door neighbor's front door opened and a little blur ran out and across the front lawns.

"Mama!" Max yelled before jumping into my arms.

I hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, swaying him side to side before setting him back onto the ground. He looked up and noticed Edward, yelling out his name too, before launching himself at him. I watched the sight, my heart aching at the sweetness of the scene, with Edward holding Max on his hip as the two shared huge grins and chatted happily back and forth.

"Now there's a Kodak moment if I've ever seen one."

I hadn't heard Maggie come up beside me, but turned to nod my head in agreement with her statement, and we both turned back to watch Max and Edward.

"So, what's this all about?" Maggie asked, noticing the open trunk that was previously full of my clothes and shoes.

"Alice," I replied. It was all the explanation anyone who had ever met her needed.

"How was he today?"

"He's been an angel," she cooed.

Maggie had been watching Max since we had moved into the neighborhood a year ago. I had been researching day care centers and had asked Maggie if she knew any nearby with good reputations. She offered to watch him, excited at the idea. She stayed at home while her husband worked, and she loved kids, though they didn't have any of their own. Their nieces and nephews lived too far away to shower with affection regularly, so having Max around not only gave her a way to fill time but also an outlet for all that pent up affection.

I wasn't sure what I would have done without her. I loved knowing that he was being taken care of by someone who adored him as if he were family and that he was just next door, always close to home.

"Are you here for good, or is he coming back over with me?" she asked.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I need to go back to the office, but I might just take him with me. He hasn't been in there in a while, and everyone keeps asking about him."

We walked over, and I got his attention, Edward turning slightly so Max could face me.

"Do you want to go to work with us, or do you want to go back over with Maggie?"

He looked between me and Maggie before turning to look at Edward. He whispered loudly to Edward, "Can I go with you?"

Edward laughed out loud before telling him, "Of course."

I looked over at Maggie, shrugged, and said, "Well, there's your answer."

I quickly introduced her to Edward before she headed back over to her house. I headed into the garage to grab Max's spare seat, taking it to Edward's car. After running up to my room to quickly change out of my dress and heels and back into a normal outfit and flat shoes, I got Max buckled in and we were off.

The drive passed quickly, as Edward and I listened to Max ramble on and on about stories from school and the new puppies Maggie was fostering at the house. He had apparently spent the afternoon naming the entire litter after snack foods.

In no time, we were walking back down the sidewalk from the garage. I had a hold of Max's hand, and he stretched his other to reach for Edward's. My head was spinning at the sight, confused at the tightening in my chest. I didn't care that we were essentially working as a human road block, taking up most of the sidewalk. We finally had to break apart to get through the doors to our building, and I almost mourned the loss of the moment.

Max bounced up and down, begging to push the button for the elevator, so I picked him up from behind and lifted him so he could reach. Once the elevator arrived, he insisted he had to press the button for our floor as well, but this time Edward got to him before I could and ended up holding him the entire ride up.

When the doors opened and Angela looked up, I involuntarily blushed at her reaction. She was a mix of surprised and confused before focusing on me with a cocked eyebrow and a knowing look. Fortunately, I could always rely on Max to distract people when he was around, so I was off the hook as soon as Edward set him down on the ground and he ran over to Angela to give her a hug and raid her M&M's.

"Okay, let's keep moving, buddy," I told him, laughing.

He mumbled something that sounded a little like "okay, Mama" through a mouth full of chocolate as he headed back over. He walked right past me though and went straight to Edward, grabbing his hand so they could walk down the hall together. I stood, unmoving, not sure if I should be offended or not. My reaction must have been apparent because Angela burst into laughter at me before I finally started moving.

We stopped at my office, and instead of letting go of Edward's hand to come inside with me, Max gave me a guilty look. He chewed on his lip for a moment, a habit he'd picked up from me, before whispering loudly, "Can I stay with Edward?"

Again, I thought I should probably be offended that he didn't want to go with me, but he was too adorable with his plea. I laughed lightly and smiled at him before quickly looking up to Edward, silently asking if that was okay with him. I didn't want Max to interrupt him if he had a lot to do. I had already taken up so much of his time today.

"I don't mind if you don't," he said, though it came out sounding more like a question.

I looked back down at Max as I squatted down to his level. "Alright, go ahead and ditch me."

His smile lit up his face as he looked up at Edward as if to verify that it really was alright. "Can I at least get a hug and kiss first?"

He launched himself into my arms, smacking a big kiss onto my cheek before grabbing Edward's hand and pulling him down the hall, even though he had no clue where they were heading. I chuckled to myself as I stood in my doorway and watched them walk away, my content smile not leaving my face. At least not until the moment was interrupted.

"Well, isn't that just fucking adorable."

I rolled my eyes before turning around.

"Lauren," I acknowledged.

"Why don't you take care of your kid yourself and quit trying to pawn him off onto someone else," she spit out with a sneer.

As much as I wanted to rip into her, I knew it wasn't the time or place. I wasn't about to give her ammunition to threaten my position, something she had been bitter about since she'd first realized I was the one who had been hired.

"Lauren, I don't think that's exactly appropriate for the workplace, do you?" I was forcing the words through my teeth as a warning to her. I may not have been able to say the things I would have loved to say and I may have had a habit of brushing the things she said off, but if she pushed me too far and brought Max into it, I wouldn't hesitate to put her in her place through professional channels.

"It's not my fault you couldn't keep the father around. Is it appropriate to fish through the workplace to find a new daddy for your bastard child?"

"Lauren!"

The voice stunned us both, and we turned simultaneously to see Peter storming down the hall. I was still shaking from anger, and it took me a few seconds to realize that my hands were clenched into fists. I realized how lucky I was that Peter had interrupted us, because I was sure my subconscious formed those fists for a reason. I looked over to see a look of absolute horror on Lauren's face and almost wanted to laugh.

"In my office. Now."

Peter's eyes never left hers. I had seen him irritated and angry before, but I had never seen this level of rage. He ushered Lauren in ahead of him and turned around to look at me.

"Are you okay?" His features had softened.

"I'm fine," I told him. "Thank you."

He smiled sympathetically at me before turning around to walk in. As soon as he shut the door, I exhaled the breath that I had been holding to block words of rage from spilling out then headed into my own office. Seconds later, I heard Peter page the office for our Human Resources manager and Lauren's Sales manager to report to his office immediately.

I decided to distract myself with emails and voicemails. My hands were still shaking from the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I heard Peter's door open across the hall about a half an hour later, but I refused to look up from my monitor. I had finally managed to calm myself down and knew that I would only get worked up again if I were to see her so soon.

"Knock knock," Peter said from my door a minute later. "Can I come in?"

"You know you don't have to ask," I reprimanded.

He laughed lightly at me and shut the door behind him to block out any curious ears that may wander past. Concerned, he asked again, "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm sure, Peter," I answered. "Really. I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to slap her if someone handed me a free pass, but truly, I'm fine."

He snorted at my response, before continuing. "I want you to let me know if anything like that happens again."

He gave me a look of warning, knowing all too well how I tended to brush things off. "I mean it. I should have put my foot down a number of times over those damn rumors, but you're so stubborn and wouldn't formally file a complaint and I had never busted her first hand. I hate that you had to hear those things, but I'm glad I overheard so I could bypass you and get something on her record."

I nodded as he kept speaking. "She's been given a warning. She knows that if she steps out of line like that one more time then she's out, so I expect to hear about it if she says anything to or about you, you got me?"

I wanted to laugh at how much he sounded like Charlie by the end of that speech, but I simply nodded instead. "You'll be the first to know."

"And thank you," I told him. "I appreciate you jumping in. I know I'm stubborn, like you said, but this time she went too far. I wouldn't have held back this time. I can deal with her flinging BS around about me, but what she said about Max …"

I trailed off, unable to articulate my reaction to her words.

"I know," he said somberly before pushing up out of the chair and heading out of the office. "Well, I just wanted to let you know what happened. So, the little guy's hanging around this afternoon?"

"Yeah, he's around. He dropped me for his new best friend," I paused for a moment before adding, "as you heard."

Peter laughed and propped the door back open. "Well, make sure you bring him by to say hello before you leave for the day."

"Will do," I called out as he crossed the hall to his office.

A little while later, I headed off to make sure Max was still okay and not getting in anyone's way. As I passed the production rooms, movement inside caught my eye. I laughed to myself as I peered in the window. Emmett was messing with the board while Edward held Max up to the mic. I slowly and quietly opened the door, not alerting them to my presence. I smiled and felt a little bit of wetness collect in my eyes as I watched Emmett and Edward record Max as he sang his songs from preschool.

I was more confused than ever before. So much of today had just felt right, but my confrontation with Lauren kept eating at me. Max had become so quickly attached to Edward. Was it healthy? Was Edward only putting up with us because he was afraid of offending new friends? Lauren was out of line, but would the rest of the office be thinking the same thing if I allowed something to happen between me and Edward? What the hell was I doing?


	10. The Ipsy Bitsy Spider

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Thanks, as always, to Beans827 and Shug for beta'ing for me!

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**EPOV**

"I should be pissed at you, Cullen."

I didn't even have the door shut to Jasper and Alice's car before she started. We were headed to the field for Max's first soccer game, and since they lived closest to me, they'd volunteered to swing by and pick me up.

"Why's that?"

She shot a look that said 'are you kidding me?' over her shoulder. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe that little stunt in my parking lot on Monday?"

I started laughing and shook my head at her. Bella had told me that Alice called that evening to whine, but this was the first time I had seen Alice since it happened, so it was the first chance she'd had to let me know how she felt about my involvement. I couldn't help but be amused that she could steal an entire wardrobe and still manage to twist things around so that she was the victim.

"You aren't over that yet?" I goaded her.

"I figured you, of all people, would appreciate my effort." I looked at her in confusion before she rolled her eyes at having to explain what she felt should have been obvious. "Doesn't she look nice dressed up?"

"You went through all of that so I could see her in a dress?" I was puzzled by this revelation. "Wait, you put _her_ through all of that so I could see her in a dress?"

She sighed, throwing her hands in the air. "Nobody appreciates the lengths I go to for them."

Jasper chuckled, patting her knee. "That's because the lengths you go to only you understand."

"Okay, so maybe it was a little much," she relented.

"A little?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow in her direction, as if daring her to be truthful, before turning his attention back to the road.

"All right, a lot," she huffed. Then she turned around with a wicked grin. "But you have to admit that it worked in your favor, huh?"

I shook my head, chuckling while trying not to encourage her.

"I couldn't have even predicted that. Who knew you two would team up to conspire against me?" she asked rhetorically. "Nothing like a little bonding exercise to get things moving."

"I don't know." I shrugged, not meeting her eyes. I looked up and stared out the window absentmindedly as we drove, thinking about the previous week and how things seemed to have taken a step back.

"What do you mean?" she asked, concerned.

"I mean, I don't know about it getting things moving," I told her. "It seems like she has pulled back a little since Monday. I think she regrets telling me about what happened before she moved here."

"Huh." The noise was contemplative, accompanied by a pensive look on Alice's face. "I don't think that's it."

She said it with such certainty that I wondered if she knew something that I didn't. I had been worried all week, trying to figure out if I'd done something wrong but couldn't think of anything that would cause Bella to retreat. Regret was the only thing I could think of to attribute her actions to.

"In fact, I know that's not it," she said, looking back at me again. "She told me she told you and had no problem with it at all. She even told me that she gave you an extended version, more information than she usually gives people. Bella trusts you."

"Did she say that?" I asked, curious and encouraged.

"What, that she trusts you?" I nodded. "Yes. When she said she told you more than she usually tells new people, I asked her what made her do it. She said she didn't know and that she just felt like she could confide in you, so it all came spilling out."

I was more confused than ever, though elated that I had somehow earned her confidence in the relatively short period of time that I had known her. "Maybe she was pissed because Max took off with me?"

Alice shook her head vigorously before reassuring me. "Nope, I know it's not that. She was laughing about it and joked that she might've been offended if it hadn't been so cute."

I laughed, relieved, but having this completely unresolved was eating at me. I had no idea what I could have done to cause her to shut down around me. I'd thought we had made so much progress, so this setback was occupying too many of my thoughts.

"No, there has to be something else going on," Alice said, more to herself than to me. "She could just be getting into her head too much, or it could be something totally unrelated. Don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of it."

We made it to the field, and just as we were getting out of the car, Emmett and Rosalie pulled up in the spot beside us. I looked around but didn't see any sign of Bella and Max, so I assumed they were running behind.

We all greeted each other before taking the blankets over by the field. We walked past the small, uncomfortable looking bleachers that were starting to fill up and set up in the grass off to the side. We laid the blankets out, the girls immediately dropping down and getting comfortable while Emmett, Jasper and I stood on the grass behind them to talk.

The crunch of gravel was nonstop as cars filled in the lot, and I was unable to stop my attention from being drawn in that direction each time new tires added to the cacophony. Eventually, her car pulled up and I watched as she slid out and opened the back door to help Max out. He stood beside her, kicking at rocks, as she leaned back in. She pulled a small duffle bag out and shut the door, taking his hand as they walked our way, not yet seeing us.

Max was bouncing, tugging on her hand as his mouth moved nonstop in conversation. Bella threw her head back in laughter at something Max said, and my breath caught in my throat. The overwhelming happiness on her face made her even more heartbreakingly beautiful, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold back. The smile never left her face as she swung Max's hand back and forth. She exchanged greetings with a couple of parents as they walked and was caught by surprise when Max ripped his hand from hers and started running in our direction.

"Max!" she called out in reaction. It seemed to take her a few seconds to realize why Max had taken off, and her expression switched from concerned to amused as she shook her head then turned back to say goodbye to the woman who had stopped to speak to her.

Max reached Emmett first, throwing his little body into Emmett's outstretched arms, giggling when Emmett tossed him up in the air and caught him. He handed him off to Jasper, who lowered him to the ground after giving him a hug. I squatted down to Max's level when he turned to me and was rewarded with a hug of my own.

"Enough male bonding over there," Rosalie teased. "How about us?"

Max giggled and ran over to greet Alice and Rosalie just as Bella made it to us.

"I'm going to develop a complex if you keep taking off on me like that, Max," she laughed.

She said hello to everyone before dropping the duffle onto the blanket.

"I can't believe we beat you here," Alice said to her. "I thought for sure Max would have insisted you guys be the first ones here."

"If he had his way," Bella said, laughing. "He's been ready since he woke up. He had his uniform on before he left his room."

"Max, come back over here," Alice instructed as she dug around in her purse. She pulled out a travel sized can of mousse and squirted some into her hand while Max gave her a wary look before turning to sit in front of her.

"Um, what are you doing, Alice?" Bella asked, puzzled.

Everyone watched, completely bewildered, as Alice ran her hands through Max's hair and then worked it into a point.

"Alice, did you just give a three year old a faux-hawk?" Rosalie shouted in shock.

Alice, seemingly proud of her work, simply nodded her head and said, "Yep. Now he's a baby Becks!"

We all just looked at each other as if trying to confirm that she was serious. Apparently, she was.

Max was just about ready to take off running toward his teammates when Bella caught the back of his shirt and pulled him backwards onto her lap. "Oh no, you don't. Get back here." She trapped him with her arms as he laughed, and I couldn't help but chuckle as well. They were just too fucking cute together. "We need to get your shin guards on first, and then you can go."

She reached over and pulled the duffle bag closer to her without moving him from her lap as she started speaking again, returning to the conversation that was interrupted with the faux-hawk mess. "Renee called just as we were getting ready to leave, otherwise we would've been here sooner."

"Oh," Alice said in full understanding. "Gotcha. Couldn't get her off the phone?"

Bella laughed. "Can I ever?" She had pulled Max's shoes off and was working the shin guards on. "I kept telling her we were running late, but she was too excited about this month's hobby."

Once she had Max ready, she lifted him off her lap and told him to go ahead and find his team. "When I gave Max the phone, he said, 'Can't talk, Gramma, I have a game,' then hung up on her."

"I'm envious," Rosalie said with a wistful sighed. "Don't you wish you could get away with stuff like that and have people think it's cute?"

"Like you have any problems being blunt." Bella laughed at her, and Rosalie simply shrugged with an evil grin then winked.

Conversation stalled as the teams prepared to start playing. We laughed as we watched the coaches from both teams physically reposition the tiny athletes on the field, only to find that they had moved by the time the next kid was put into place. After five wasted minutes, coaches from both sides gave up and decided to just allow the kids to do what they wanted. Structure was nearly impossible at this age.

The game started and everyone on the sidelines cheered as every single kid on the field, excluding the two in goal, ran from one end of the field to the other following the ball, oblivious to the concept of separating into offense and defense. Somehow, somebody managed to kick the ball in the general direction of the blue team's goal, and although the ball had little momentum and never would have made it near the goal line, three kids in blue jerseys dove on top of it. Not one of them was the kid designated to be the team's goalie.

After the stop in play, both teams worked their way to the opposite end of the field. During a minor scuffle midfield where four kids were trying to kick at the same time, the ball somehow freed itself from the crowd. Before we knew it, Max had a head start on every other kid and was taking off in the opposite direction, heading for the blue team's goal.

He lost control of the ball a couple times on the way, but since everyone else was so far behind him, having not immediately realized where the ball had gone, he had plenty of time to recover. It was one-on-one by the time he neared the goal. Whether it was a deliberate aim or just plain lucky, he managed to kick to the opposite corner, well past the goaltender's reach, scoring the first point of the game.

The cheers from our blankets were deafening, and the smile on Max's face couldn't have been any wider. His little cheeks had to have been aching. His team crowded around him in celebration while the coaches gave him a pat on the back.

The remainder of the first half followed much the same patterns set in those initial plays: kids would run en masse up the field, then those same kids would run en masse down the field, and occasionally a kid would break out and score a goal. By the time the coaches pulled the kids off the field for a break and some water, the score was 4-3 in favor of Max's green team aided by the two goals he had scored.

While the kids huddled with their coaches, drinking water, Rosalie started conversation again. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I almost forgot! What the hell happened to Lauren?"

Bella immediately stiffened and looked over at Rosalie. "What do you mean?"

Her voice was cautious, and I couldn't help but study her features to try and make sense of her reaction. Had something happened that I hadn't heard about?

"I overheard her complaining yesterday about getting written up," Rosalie said matter-of-factly. "I figured you would have heard something about that."

Bella was still guarded, staring down at the blanket as she picked at a fuzz ball, and responded, "You know I can't talk about those things."

Rosalie studied Bella suspiciously. "_Can't_? Did she say something to you?"

"Just drop it, please?" Bella begged.

By this point, everyone was watching the two of them, trying to figure out what the hell we had all missed. A sick feeling grew in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was why she had distanced herself.

"She did, didn't she?" Rosalie was doing one of those whisper yells at this point as she continued. "What did she say to you?"

"Not now, okay?" Bella peered over at Rosalie with pleading eyes.

Rosalie sighed and nodded her head, though her body language said the conversation wasn't over. Just then, the kids started making their way back to the field to start the second half, and our attention was diverted to the game in front of us, though the atmosphere around us was significantly more stressed.

After a few minutes, everyone managed to relax a bit and put the conversation behind us. Some of the kids on the field seemed to have hit their limit on focus and had found other ways to entertain themselves which, in turn, entertained the crowd on the sidelines. Two boys stopped playing soccer entirely and had moved on to their own game of tag midfield. Off to the side of the goal in front of us, one little girl was picking dandelions and fisting them into a small bouquet in one hand.

By the end of the game, only half of the kids were still playing and the green team defeated the blue by a score of 6-4. Max ended up with three of the team's goals, a fact he was quite proud of when he made it to the blanket.

"Did you see me? I kicked it just like you showed me!"

"Yeah, I saw you. You were great out there, munchkin!" I ruffled his hair before he ran off to say goodbye to his friends.

"So, Bella," Alice said, drawing Bella's attention away from where Max was standing. "I know we were planning to do take-out for dinner, but I'm _really_ craving spaghetti pomodoro."

Bella laughed at Alice's puppy dog eyes as Rosalie moaned, "Mmm, carbs."

"We can do that," Bella shrugged as she picked up the blanket from the ground and folded it. "I only have a couple pints of tomatoes though. I need everything else."

Max ran back to our group as Jasper picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, walking off with him as he giggled, pleading unconvincingly to be put down.

The lot was quickly emptying out as we made our way to the cars while the girls continued planning. In the end, it was somehow decided—and by somehow I meant manipulated by Alice to be so—that Rosalie and Emmett would stop by some nearby bakery for bread, Alice and Jasper would run to the store for more tomatoes, as well as basil and garlic, while I would ride home with Bella and Max to help her get started.

I opened the passenger side door and dropped myself into the seat as Bella buckled Max into the back, teasing him about being sweaty and stinky. She got in the front, turning the key in the ignition and backing out of the spot, saying, "All right, let's get out of here."

She and I didn't talk much at first; Max dominated the conversation wanting to relive his successes on the field. He finally trailed off, and the car quieted.

"This is a really nice car," I told her as I looked around at the details inside. She blushed a little before speaking.

"I'll be sure to pass the compliment on to Rose. It was all her doing."

I didn't respond right away, trying to make sense of her words so she continued. "It's a company car. I had no involvement in the decision; it was all her and Peter."

"Ahh," I laughed in understanding as she continued to blush. "Got ya."

"Yeah, when the leases were up last year they didn't take my opinion into consideration. At all." She shook her head amused. "I just needed something with a little extra room since I often have to haul things to and from the venues. I told them I just needed something simple, something a little less expensive than what they were considering. Rosalie has a really good relationship with a lot of the car dealerships in the area and ended up getting a 'deal' on our leases, if you can call it that, from one of the clients she works with regularly." She sighed, shaking her head again. "I was less than happy when she pulled up with this for me when I was expecting something worth half, at most."

Suddenly her blushing made sense. Just like with her house, she was embarrassed to think that people might see her as materialistic. God, could she be any more fucking endearing?

"But still, you have to admit, it is a nice car," I urged, grinning at her.

She blushed again. "Yeah, I'm kind of spoiled now. I _really_ like driving it. I'll never admit to her how attached I am to it; it'd only give her license to go overboard all the time."

We both laughed, and as our conversation stalled, I could hear Max singing in the back seat. I looked back to see him gazing out the window, in his own little world. He made it through the song once, and I listened more intently as he began to sing again to make sure I heard him correctly. After a few moments, when I was more certain of what I had heard, I looked over at Bella and quietly asked, "Is he singing 'ipsy, bitsy spider' back there?"

She laughed and nodded. "Yep, he has trouble with 'itsy bitsy' for some reason. It's always been 'ipsy, bitsy' for him."

I chuckled and listened some more. Too damn cute.

"Try to get him to say 'helicopter,'" she urged. I looked at her, trying to figure out why and she nodded. "Trust me."

I turned my body slightly sideways so I could look directly at Max. "Hey bud, maybe you can help me out?"

He stopped singing and looked over at me expectantly, as I continued. "I've been trying to think of a word all day, and I just can't remember it. What do you call that thing, it's kind of like an airplane but smaller and has a propeller on top?"

His eyes lit up in recognition as he excitedly yelled out, "A hell-of-a-copter!"

I burst into laughter and heard Bella do the same beside me. "Yeah, that's it. Thanks, that was driving me crazy."

"Welcome!" he shouted before turning back to the window and starting his song again.

"Hell-of-a-copter." I chuckled to myself as I shook my head.

We pulled into the garage a few minutes later and headed into the house.

"Come on," Max urged as he tugged on my hand with all his might. "I wanna show you my room!"

Bella laughed as she began to pull tomatoes out of the refrigerator. As I allowed Max to pull me from the room, I heard her call out to him to change out of his uniform before coming back downstairs.

Max dragged me up the steps with a surprising amount of strength for someone that small and didn't stop until we came to a door in the middle of the hall. He opened the door and ran in, immediately jumping up on the bed and turning to wait for my reaction.

I looked around the room, taking in its rusty orange walls, stenciled border near the ceiling, and the treasure chest doubling as a toy box. His bed was draped in a Pirates of the Caribbean comforter, and I remembered the discussion a few weeks ago about his obsession with pirates. They weren't kidding. The room really did look cute, and judging by the look on his face, he was quite proud of it.

"Wow," I said. "You must really like pirates."

"Yep," he replied simply as he started jumping up and down on the mattress, rumpling the comforter.

"I'm jealous. I wish I had a cool room like this," I told him as his grin widened at the approval. "But I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be jumping on the bed like that. Am I right?"

He looked at me sheepishly, though he didn't bother to stop, so I strode over and grabbed him by the waist, picking him up over my head and giving him a playful shake causing him to squeal as he laughed. I placed him back on the floor and he took off, going through toy after toy, seemingly searching for something specific.

Eventually, he ran back over with a stuffed animal hidden behind his back.

"What do you have there?" I squatted down to his level, elbows resting on my thighs.

His toe dragged across the carpet in front of him as he pulled out a small stuffed dog and held it in front of him. "It's my puppy."

The dog was clearly well loved, the material not as soft in some spots where it had been cuddled for years. "What's your puppy's name?"

He looked at me like I was an idiot and his tone reflected the same when he deadpanned, "Puppy."

I laughed out loud, mostly due to the tenor of his response, as I shook my head. "Well, I guess that was obvious, huh?"

He giggled, pushing the puppy into my hands so he could run off to find more toys. I convinced him to get changed so that we could get downstairs since everyone would be arriving soon. He grabbed my hand again, pulling me with him as he took it upon himself to point out each room we passed. I inwardly groaned when he pointed out Bella's room, the door wide open so I could see that big, inviting bed. I had to shake off the thoughts that were starting to form before we made it to the stairs.

Max let go of my hand and took off to play with his toys in the living room the moment we reached the bottom of the stairs, and when I re-entered the kitchen there was no sign of Bella, only a cutting board full of halved cherry tomatoes. I was just about to turn around and look elsewhere when she walked out of what I assumed to be a large pantry, carrying a jar of marshmallow fluff.

"Um, I know I'm not exactly a pro in the kitchen, but I don't think tomatoes and fluff are supposed to go together."

She rolled her eyes at me, her mouth pulling up on one side as she fought a smile. She waved the jar in the air. "It's not for the tomatoes; it's for the cream cheese."

"Really?" I asked, slightly disgusted. I couldn't imagine how that combination was supposed to go.

"Mmhmm," she hummed as she placed the jar next to a bar of cream cheese on the counter and pulled out a bowl.

"Why?" I asked warily, moving closer to see what she was doing. She unwrapped the cream cheese and dumped the whole block into the bowl with a thud. Then, she unscrewed the lid on the marshmallow fluff, peeled the safety seal off, and began scooping the goo directly into the bowl.

Once she emptied the jar, she picked up a hand mixer and began squishing into the mess before turning it on. "Fruit dip."

I watched in silence, noting that the mixing didn't seem to be easing my fears. In fact, it was starting to look worse. She was at it for a few minutes, and I could still see the cream cheese in small chunks throughout the mixture. "Are you sure that's going to work?"

"Such doubt," she sighed. "You wound me. Have a little faith."

She shot me the cutest fucking smile and at that point, it didn't matter what concoction she was working on, I would have told her anything she wanted to hear.

"I know it looks a little scary right now, but it takes a little while for the cream cheese to fully incorporate itself into the fluff. Once you taste it, you won't question me again. So simple, but so good."

Sure enough, a few minutes later the mixture had smoothed out and actually looked edible. She pulled the mixer out and dropped the beaters into the sink, then reached for an apple out of a bowl of fruit and sliced it. She dragged a slice through the dip and held it out for me. I gave her a wary look, and she sighed and rolled her eyes at me. "Just try it."

Though I really wanted to let her feed it to me, I figured at this point it was safer to take the slice from her. I bit into it and chewed as she watched. It didn't take long for me to realize she was absolutely right. Before I could catch myself, I moaned.

"You're right, that's really fucking delicious."

My eyes widened when I realized where I was and turned to look all around me. She started laughing at me, but it wasn't until I heard Max talking to himself in the other room that I dared to breathe again. I really needed to remember to watch my mouth.

"Shit!" I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth since I was apparently unable to filter my words, and she laughed harder.

"Don't worry about it," she said as she patted my shoulder. "You're certainly not the first to slip up around here."

I sighed in relief that I hadn't upset or offended her.

"Although," she dragged out the word before continuing, "if Max does hear you, you'll owe him a dollar. The way he's going, he'll have college paid for by the time he starts kindergarten."

I laughed, finally relaxed again as we heard the front door open. Emmett and Rosalie strolled into the kitchen moments later with a couple loaves of bread. Bella pulled out another cutting board and cut up a pineapple to go with the dip, and the four of us stood around talking while digging into pineapple, strawberries, and apple loaded with fruit dip.

Alice and Jasper showed up eventually. Alice dropped the grocery bags on the counter, and Bella went to help her unload everything. Jasper stepped into the kitchen behind them and walked over to me.

"I brought your bag in," he told me. "It's in the living room for now."

A massive rock formed in the pit of my stomach from the mix of nerves and anticipation. Tonight we were all going out. Tonight we were all crashing here for the night. Tomorrow I would wake up in her home.


	11. The Flasher

**Much love to my betas - Beans827 and Shug!**

**The song referenced in this chapter is Lily Allen's "Never Gonna Happen" - if you don't know it, there are a number of versions available on YouTube if you want to take a listen and understand why it causes a little concern.**

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**EPOV**

Getting ready to go out was a lesson in organized chaos. Everybody worked in shifts, getting in and out of bathrooms, trying to shower and get dressed after dinner. A babysitter had shown up earlier and had Max entertained in his room, while the girls finished getting ready upstairs. Emmett, Jasper, and I had been finished for a little while and were sitting around the living room watching a baseball game while we waited.

It had been fairly quiet, none of us feeling the need to fill the silence as we watched the game, so when a door slammed upstairs, we all jerked to attention. One set of footsteps thundered down the stairs and moments later, Rosalie appeared. She didn't acknowledge us as she headed toward the kitchen, mumbling to herself, "I can't believe that fucking bitch."

The three of us traded looks of confusion, hoping someone had any clue what was going on. Our attention turned once again to Rosalie when she re-entered the room, twisting a cap off of the bottle she was carrying.

"What's the matter, babe?" Emmett asked hesitantly.

She sighed as she leaned one hip against the back of the couch. "Lauren. Bella just told us what happened."

"And what happened?" Jasper prodded.

She sighed again and pushed off of the couch. "Hold on."

She headed back upstairs, and the room fell into silence one more time. Emmett muted the television so that we could hear what was happening above us.

"He has a right to know," we heard Rosalie say. She must have been standing in the hall instead of entering the bedroom, because the responding voice was much fainter, none of us able to make out any words.

"The warning isn't going to shut her up for long, and you know it," Rosalie argued. "At least let me tell them so they know to watch out for her. Peter's right; this has to stop and you should've filed a complaint a long time ago."

They argued back and forth for another minute before we heard a soft click of the door. Rosalie came back into the room, much calmer than she had been just minutes before, and sat on the couch next to Emmett.

"So?" Emmett urged.

"Before I say anything, don't go rushing Bella as soon as you find out. She's about ready to crack just from telling me and Alice, and if any of you run up there right now, that'll be the end of it. She just wants to forget about it for now and have fun tonight."

She looked at each of us pointedly, and we all nodded, silently agreeing to her terms, as she braced herself to tell the story. "She didn't want to tell anybody, but, obviously, I overheard Lauren complaining about her warning the other day, so I kind of forced Bella's hand today."

It was obvious that Rosalie felt guilty, and Emmett rubbed her shoulder in reassurance. "I'm glad she's not bottling it up, though. You can tell it's been bothering her all week."

I suddenly knew, without a doubt, that whatever Rosalie was about to tell us was the reason for Bella's distance over the past few days. As if the knot in my chest wasn't tight enough already, Rosalie turned and looked at me. "It kind of involves you."

"What the hell happened?" I ground out through my teeth, already imagining how bad it must have been to cause so much of a reaction.

Rosalie took a deep breath, steeling herself to tell the story. As it spilled out, the tension in the room increased exponentially. A wave of nausea hit me when she got to the insult—how vindictive does someone have to be to call a child a bastard?—which earned Lauren her warning.

A round of grumbled curses filled the room, and I rubbed my face with my hands. It all made so much sense. I was torn between wanting to find Lauren and put her in her place and running upstairs to reassure Bella. I knew, though, that if I were to see Lauren anytime soon that I would have a tough time following the "no hitting girls" rule and I had already promised Rosalie that I wouldn't pressure Bella into talking about it. I was stuck, sitting in the chair, unable to do a damn thing about it.

Bella and I had made so much forward progress over the last weeks, and Lauren had just set us back, who knows how much. I could only hope that now that Bella had opened up that she would realize Lauren was full of shit. I was willing to bet that Alice was upstairs at that moment stating that very thing, albeit much more descriptively.

The four of us fell into an uneasy silence as we each silently fumed. I thought I had left this shit behind me. This nasty, petty fuckery was what I was trying to escape. Something about this almost seemed worse. It wasn't a reaction to a desperate situation like trying to hang onto a job. This was spite and envy with intent to hurt.

My thoughts shifted as I reflected on the past twenty minutes. Rosalie hadn't taken it upon herself to share the story; instead, she'd sought Bella's approval before telling us anything. I had no doubt that, had Bella asked her not to repeat what she had said, Rosalie wouldn't have hesitated to leave us in the dark. It was a pattern I had seen repeatedly among this group of friends. The intense loyalty, the way they rallied around each other, was everything I could have hoped to find. Realistically, I knew that no place would be completely free from drama. It was how the people involved handled it that made the difference.

I relaxed back in my seat, a little more comfortable and confident that, even though Bella allowed Lauren to affect her all week, nobody in this group would permit her to take anything that Lauren had said to heart for any extended period of time.

Her withdrawal from me could be reversed now that I knew exactly what we were dealing with. I knew I couldn't be the only one feeling like this. Her reactions, though subtle, indicated that she was just as affected by me. Too often, I could see her eyes searching mine for answers to questions only she knew. Lauren may have slowed things down, but I had faith that she wouldn't prevail. I refused to allow it.

I turned my head when I heard movement on the steps. Alice was jabbering about something, I had no clue what, because walking right behind her was Bella. The girls had gone all out, getting dressed up, so Bella was too focused on maneuvering down the steps in heels to notice us yet, giving me a few extra moments to take her in. Her simple black dress stopped just below her knees, the heel of her shoes lengthening her legs and causing her calves to tighten and flex with each movement. The pale of her skin contrasted with the dark of the dress and all I wanted to do was find out firsthand if she was as soft and smooth as she looked.

She let out a breath in relief when she reached the bottom and laughed at something Alice had said.

"About time, bitches!" Rosalie teased.

"Don't look at me," Bella laughed as she pointed accusingly at Alice. "I could've been done a long time ago without Miss Perfectionist buzzing around."

"You smell like"—Rosalie paused as she sniffed near Bella's face as Bella laughed at her and tried to push her away—"cotton candy."

"It's the lipstick," Bella explained as she walked over to the end table to pick up her cell phone and tossed it in her clutch. She licked her lips and continued, "Tastes like cotton candy, too."

I suppressed a groan and wondered how much more work I had ahead of me before I could verify that fact. Did she have any idea how much she was undermining my resistance? I had heard plenty of women say that kind of shit trying to be sexy, but the fact that it was a completely innocent statement made it so much more tempting than it would have been had anyone else said it.

"I love that color," Rosalie resumed. "Alice, what kind of lipstick is this?"

Alice looked over at her and shrugged. "It's not one of mine. She bought it on her own."

The two looked at each other, then over at Bella, surprised and impressed before Bella rolled her eyes and laughed. "Damn, you two. You know, I can actually pull off this whole 'being a girl' thing on my own from time to time. Give me a _little_ credit."

At that moment, the babysitter brought Max down to say goodbye and goodnight to everybody. He made his way around the room, giving out hugs, while Bella gave instructions to the sitter. When she was finished, Max walked over and clung to her neck as they whispered their goodbyes, goodnights and I love you's. After a quick kiss and orders to 'be good', we were headed out the door.

We were getting ready to pile into Emmett's SUV when Bella stopped. "Oh, wait!"

She pulled a set of keys out of her clutch and unlocked the door on the side of the garage. The rest of us climbed into the car while we waited. In no time at all, she was back outside, locking the door behind her before climbing in with us.

She pulled herself up into the only seat open, the one next to me, and leaned forward to hand a parking lanyard to Emmett. He hooked it over the rear view mirror as Bella moved back to the seat. The movement caused the air to stir and the smell of something sweet rushed past me. Cotton candy. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply but slowly in order to be subtle, then heard her shift in her seat and begin speaking.

I opened my eyes, turning to watch her as she carried on a conversation with Alice and Jasper, who were sitting behind us. With her attention elsewhere, I had the opportunity to just watch. She had an unpretentious grace about her. She was wide-eyed and glowing, the smile never leaving her face as her hands gesticulated wildly as she spoke. I couldn't process the words; I was too focused on the way her lips moved and was still thinking about that damn cotton candy.

I lost all sense of time as we wound through the streets on our way to the venue. The sun had set some time ago, and I sat entranced by the way the streets lights would illuminate Bella's form for just a moment every few seconds as we passed underneath.

I snapped out of my trance when the vehicle slowed to a stop and Emmett rolled down the window to speak to a guard at the entrance of a private alley that ran between buildings. The guard glanced at the parking tag in the window and waved us forward.

There were a few cars parked behind the venue, as well as a couple of vans that were pulled up to the double doors, unloading equipment. We were here to see a local band with a large following, or so I'd been told. When we were making plans earlier in the week, everybody had raved about the band. Bella had explained that they consistently sold out local venues and that their shows were often more profitable than some of the bands she had booked who had major label deals and were currently charting.

We followed Bella to the rear entrance and were immediately welcomed in, not needing our IDs since the guards at the doors were obviously already familiar with her. We wound through the backstage area before we came to a door that led to the side of the bar. From here, we could see the entire main floor. The bar was set in the very back, taking up most of the rear wall. Hardwood floors spread out in front of it, all the way to the stage. Tables were set up in the back portion behind a rail, and beyond that, the floor lowered a couple feet creating a large, mostly empty area the rest of the way to the stage for a general admission crowd.

People were filling in the area at a steady pace, trying to find spots as close to the stage as they could get. It seemed that the audience was a heavy mix of men and women in their twenties and thirties.

It wasn't until I felt a tug at my sleeve that I realized I had stopped moving. Alice dragged me behind her to follow the group. Bella was still in the lead, talking to man who appeared to be in his forties. She smiled and laughed, then playfully slapped his arm. A tiny pang of jealousy started to arise until we got closer and I could hear him telling her a story about his wife.

When he finished the story, Bella introduced him to me since I was the only one who hadn't already met him. He turned out to be the House Manager, Jim, and he left us shortly after showing us to a table against the rail that he had reserved for us.

A server brought drinks over as we got comfortable and we fell into conversation.

"Nice place, huh?" Jasper asked from next to me.

"Huh?" I hadn't realized that I had zoned out again, but I immediately recognized that I had been paying more attention to the lighting, accents, and details of the space. I was used to dusty venues with sticky floors, but this place looked like nobody had ever stepped inside it before tonight. "Oh, yeah. This place is great. It's so… clean. I wasn't expecting that."

Everyone laughed, and Jasper motioned toward Bella across the table with his glass. "It's Bella's baby."

She blushed and shrugged while mumbling something unintelligible, trying to deflect attention.

"Christ, just take the credit already," Rosalie admonished.

Jasper cut in again. "Yeah, this place was a dump. Literally. It was condemned when she found it."

"Really?" I asked as I looked around again at the building that appeared to be in pristine condition before looking back over at Bella.

She played with the glass in front of her before finally breaking down to speak. "This was my first project. We only had two venues when I started, and we were looking to add to that since profits were up. We found this place…"

She was interrupted by Emmett. "_You_ found this place."

"Okay, _I_ found this place—"she shot an 'are you happy now?' look over to Emmett—"and managed to get the okay from Peter to go ahead on the project. We did a complete overhaul, obviously, and it's been pretty successful since we opened."

She stood up from her seat. "Do you want to see the rest of the place before the show starts? We have a little while before the band takes the stage."

I rose from my own seat and followed behind her through the crowd until we reached a different door that led backstage.

"Finally!" she said with a relieved sigh, celebrating her ability to maneuver through the horde of people waiting for the show to begin. "Ready to see all of our dirty little secrets?"

"Always," I responded. She was in her element. It was obvious that she loved her job when she was in the office, but there was an extra glow to her, here in this environment. She was even more excited and proud when immersed in the product of all her hard work.

We walked, side by side, through the hall as she pointed out various rooms and introduced me to some of the staff.

We rounded a corner and ended up in a large room where people were sitting around, talking. "And this, _this_," she said, emphasizing the word the second time she said it with a wave of her hand. "This is our dirtiest secret; the fact that no one does a damn thing when they're on the clock here."

A couple people looked up at her—one shooting her a thumbs-up, agreeing to her assessment, and another flipping her off, the action's message muted by the devious grin on the guy's face.

"Ratting us out?" a voice called out from our left. I looked over to see Jim, the House Manager I'd met earlier, stepping closer.

"Not like you're trying to hide it," she responded with an arched eyebrow. He looked around the room, seeing that nobody had made an effort to look productive, and shrugged.

"Getting the grand tour?" he asked me.

"Something like that, I suppose," I responded.

"Did the place you worked at before have their own venues?" Bella asked.

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "We'd sponsor shows here and there, but they were always someone else's. We didn't have our own venues, so this is all new to me."

"You'll love this, then," Jim said. "It's a whole different experience when you have free reign of a place."

"I bet," I agreed.

"Not sure if you're the starstruck type, but, if so, it passes quickly," Bella said. "Some people have such massive egos that they'll tumble right off that pedestal in seconds. Others are so 'normal' that you quickly forget that they're famous."

"Or they hit on you and freak you out, right Swan?" Jim said while elbowing Bella.

"Shut up," she mumbled to him, cheeks turning a brighter shade of pink than I'd seen yet.

"Okay, I think there's a story somewhere. You can't just leave it there. I'm curious now."

She pushed her embarrassment aside and shot a disapproving look at Jim. "Fine! I've tried very hard to purge the event from my memory, but, last year, Willie Nelson hit on me."

I burst into laughter, and after a few seconds, she laughed too. She tried to tell the story, but Jim, who was apparently standing right there at the time, kept cutting in to give a more detailed version.

"And then," he said, holding his sides. "He winked at her and walked out the door to go onstage. It was great. She just stood there, stunned. I don't even think she blinked! It took about thirty seconds before she said, 'uh, did Willie Nelson just hit on me?'"

"What can I say," she said calmly. "Old men love me. Why should Willie be any different?"

I put an arm around her in a supportive gesture as I leaned in. "The old pothead didn't stand a chance."

Jim left us shortly after and Bella and I headed back to our seats. We managed to get back to our friends just as the crew made their final adjustments onstage. The lights flickered a few minutes later, telling the crowd to find their places because the band would be onstage soon. A minute later, the lights dimmed entirely as the band took the stage to raucous cheers and applause. They were good, I couldn't argue with that, but they didn't compare to standing behind Bella at that rail as she lost herself in the music. She would sway and bop her head along with the music, occasionally holding a hand over her head to tap out a beat in the air as she sang along. The excitement in her eyes and the smile that lit her face when the opening notes to her favorite songs started was enough for me to consider the night a success.

After a ninety minute set and two encores, the band left the stage and the crowd settled down. Some made their way out the door, calling it a night, but for the most part the place shifted into club mode. A DJ had set up on a small raised platform off to the side near the center of the floor, and the staff was working in double time trying to get drink orders taken care of as quickly as possible. We all sat back in our seats, none of us bothering to try and converse too much until our ears adjusted to the relative quiet.

Kate came over to the table to say hello, dragging a man behind her whom she introduced as her boyfriend, Garrett. I had heard about him while we were making plans a couple days ago. He, apparently, filled in as a DJ now and then and would be working tonight, though he was spending time socializing while waiting for the band and crew to tear down the equipment onstage so that he could take over.

I sat back and laughed as the group reminisced about similar nights out, stumbling out at the end of the night, tipsy. The stage was eventually cleared, and Kate and Garrett stood so they could head over toward his gear. Kate called for Bella as she was walking away, giving her a devious look as she pointed at her and said, "You and me. Later."

Bella laughed and gave her a thumbs-up as she sipped her Coke and I tried to figure out what they were talking about. Nobody else seemed to pay any attention to the exchange, continuing their conversations until the lights dimmed again. Before Garrett could start the music, I heard another voice call for Bella, though this one was distinctly masculine. I turned in the direction to see the house manager waving her over.

She sighed an apology as she stood, leaving the table behind to follow him. I watched as she trailed through the crowd and disappeared behind a door close to the stage.

"That's why she never drinks when we come to one of our venues," Emmett said, nodding his head in the direction that Bella had disappeared. "She always gets pulled in to work, even when she's technically off the clock."

The mood of the venue shifted to that of a typical night club, though the music Garrett played was distinctly better than the standard Top 40 remix garbage played in most clubs. Our group would split and meet up again at random over the next hour. I broke out on my own a bit, talking to a few people from work that had also shown up for the concert. I had a few women come up to me, wanting to dance or to just stand at the bar and have a drink, but I wasn't interested. I would politely move on, finding someone new to talk to while always keeping an eye on the door leading to the backstage area.

I was standing at the bar when Bella reappeared with the lead singer of the band. I watched with sick fascination as he made her laugh, ignoring the women around him who were trying to angle their bodies to gain his attention, and Bella lightly placed a hand on his upper arm. A few more words were exchanged between the two before he leaned in closer to her. I swallowed thickly, unable to tear my gaze away from the scene, before I realized that the gesture was innocent. They shared a quick, one-armed hug with a couple pats to the back before they pulled away from each other. Bella waved a goodbye as she walked away, and he happily shifted his focus to the women who had crowded around.

I turned around, facing the bar and ordering another beer, not wanting her to see that I had been watching her like the creepy stalker I was starting to believe that I was. I could feel her drawing near before I could see her in my periphery as she slid into the open space next to me.

"Hey," she breathed, a shy smile gracing her face.

"Hey," I responded, apparently unable to initiate intelligent conversation.

She leaned over the bar to see where the bartenders were, noting that both were busy with the crowds that had been filtering in while she'd been gone. I watched as she chewed her lip, looking back and forth behind the bar, assessing something. She stood straight and turned around to look behind her, then back to the bar in front. After a moment's hesitation, she pushed a barstool out of the way and stepped onto the brass rail intended for people to prop their feet on.

She looked over at me and quickly jerked her head for me to move. "Stand behind me."

"What?" I asked, unsure of what she was doing and a little amused at the determination on her face.

"Stand behind me," she repeated. "I'm going for a bottle of water from the cooler over here but I don't exactly want to flash my gutchies to the whole bar. So, stand behind me."

I cracked up laughing, "Gutchies?"

She shrugged, unapologetically. "It's what my mom always called them when I was a kid. It stuck."

I stood behind her, as she requested. "So, does this mean you don't mind if you 'flash your gutchies' to me?"

The words left my mouth before I could begin to comprehend what I was saying. Her head whipped around in shock, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. My mouth opened and closed, unable to form the apology I wanted to offer, until she started laughing. Hysterically.

"You perv!" she teased before stretching her foot out to kick me lightly in the shin in admonishment.

She stretched over the bar, pushing up on her tiptoes and yelling down to the closest bartender to let him know what she was doing. I watched as her dress lifted higher the further she stretched. She eventually ended up flat on her belly across the bar before managing to reach the cooler, her feet kicking up in the air in an attempt to balance herself. I shifted my attention back up when I noticed her dress started to lower down into place and her feet searched blindly for the support of the brass bar, signifying that she was finished. I placed my hand at her lower back for additional assistance. If nothing else, the exchange proved that she was at least comfortable with me.

"Done stealing water?" I asked her.

"I didn't steal it," she argued, teasingly. "I _creatively acquired_ it."

I chuckled at her. "Ahh, I see. Big difference."

"Very." She smirked as we headed back over to the table where everyone had congregated once again.

"It's about time," Alice said with a huff. "I didn't think you were ever coming back."

"Sorry. They wanted to book some more dates and wanted to see if they could borrow or rent this place in a couple months for a showcase they're organizing for some industry people. I guess the band is getting a lot of interest from the major labels, so we may be saying goodbye to these guys soon."

We had been at the table for awhile when a new song started, causing Bella to whip her head around as the first notes made their way through the speakers. She was grinning when she stood and turned to the rail, looking out over the crowd of people. "Where is she?" she yelled over to Alice and Rosalie, still scanning the floor for somebody.

Moments later a beaming Kate had climbed up onto the other side of the rail in front of Bella and they began to sing along to the song. It wasn't one I had ever heard before, and I couldn't help but grow concerned as I listened to the lyrics.

"Um, Alice?" I asked, nudging Alice to coax her attention away from Bella and Kate who were now inches from each others' faces, belting out lyrics, singing along to the song.

"Yeah?" she asked, confused.

"Should I be worried?" Her brow furrowed and tilted her head slightly to the side, letting me know I needed to elaborate. "The song? This isn't, like, some not-so-hidden message is it?"

She was silent for a second, listening to the lyrics, trying to figure out what I meant as the chorus began.

_How on earth could I be any more obvious?  
It never really did and now it's never gonna happen with the two of us_

Realization hit her and she started laughing, "No! No, don't worry about it. Have you heard the story about how Kate and Garrett met?"

"She said she met him here about six months ago, that's all I know," I told her.

"Yeah, they did, but there's more to it," she said. "Bella, Rosalie, and I brought Kate out for a girls' night after her ex decided he just wouldn't leave her alone and kept calling her and showing up at her apartment trying to get her to take him back. Well, he turned up here and would not give up. After a couple hours of us trying to convince him to back off, Bella ran out to the car and got her iPod and took it to Garrett to play this song. Needless to say the guy finally got the hint, we were in tears at how appropriate the song was, as if it was written specifically for Kate, and now anytime Kate's around when we're out, they do this," she explained as she pointed to Bella and Kate, still singing and dancing dramatically along with the song.

The relief that washed over me allowed me to enjoy the little show they were putting on, unaware of all of the eyes now turned to them. Bella offered a hand as Kate vaulted herself over the railing, and Alice and Rosalie joined in for some sort of 'girl power' moment. As the song drew to a close, small applause and a few cheers caused Bella to blush and attempt to hide behind the other girls.

As the night wore on, the group split and re-converged many more times. Bella and I were left to ourselves, and I grabbed onto her wrist, gently urging her, "Come on."

She looked down at where my hand wrapped around hers and back up to me, confusion evident. "Where are we going?"

I didn't answer, just nodded my head in the direction of the crowd dancing below us. Her eyes widened the moment she realized my intentions, and she dug in her heels.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. In fact, it could be downright dangerous."

I laughed and gave her arm a gentle tug. "Come on," I repeated softly.

"No, really," she insisted. "You've seen me. Gravity and I have a tenuous relationship at best. It's either the dancing or the shoes," she said, looking down at the heels on her feet before continuing, "and tonight I chose the shoes."

"The shoes won't stop you if you don't let them," I teased.

She peered down at the crowd as they moved together. "I can't keep up with those people down there."

I shifted to stand directly in front of her, still not letting go of her wrist. "You only need to keep up with me."

Her resolve was weakening; I could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. "I'll trip and fall."

"I won't let you fall," I assured her, grinning at her as she desperately tried to talk her way out of this.

"I'm going to snap my ankle in these shoes," she argued, reverting back to the shoes as her excuse.

I felt a shift in the moment, from playful to sincere as I leaned slightly closer, so that only she could hear me as I promised, "I won't let you get hurt."

For a moment, the rest of the world blurred into the periphery as our eyes held contact with each other and we each assessed how far-reaching that statement may have actually been.


	12. Epiphanies and Clarity

****

Song referenced in this chapter is "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" from Disney's Hercules. If you look it up, pay particular attention to The Muses!

Thanks, as always to Beans827 and Shug for being such awesome betas, and putting up with my mild obsessive panic about this chapter.

* * *

**BPOV**

I pulled the blanket tighter around my body and leaned deeper into the cushions of the couch as I adjusted the volume on the television. I had been unable to fall asleep once we got back home and opted instead to take a hot shower to wash away the bar smell. My mind had been racing the entire time, and I was wide awake as I stared longingly at my bed, knowing that it was pointless to even bother. I walked right past it and headed out the door, greeted by nothing but absolute silence as I made my way down the stairs, tiptoeing quietly so as not to wake anybody up. Rosalie and Emmett, and Alice and Jasper were crashed in the spare bedrooms upstairs while Edward was on the pullout couch in my downstairs office.

In need of a distraction, I ended up in the kitchen, baking muffins for tomorrow's breakfast. Unfortunately, the boxed mix took little time and I once again found myself trying to figure out how to occupy both my time and my mind, which was how I ended up watching CNN in the dim light at nearly three in the morning.

I was sitting with my legs curled up underneath me, my back supported by the arm of the couch, when I heard movement in the house. I sat up a little straighter, so that I could see over the back of the couch as I tried to determine the source of the noise. Moments later, Edward emerged from the hall, shuffling forward as he absently scratched the back of his head. He hadn't seen me yet, and I took the opportunity to watch him. His simple cotton pajama pants hung low and his tee had risen when he raised his arm to his head, a small slip of skin peeking out, showcasing a hint of the toned muscles that were usually hidden away. I sunk back into the couch, not taking my attention away from him.

He looked up, noticing that he wasn't alone, and I gave him a small smile.

"Hey." His voice was scratchy, but his eyes blazed into mine.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "Did I wake you up? Is the TV too loud?"

He shook his head. "No. Thirsty."

He grinned as he disappeared into my kitchen and re-emerged moments later with a bottle of water. "Um, did you bake?"

I started laughing and shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

He sat down on the other end of the couch and turned his attention to the screen. "So…watching anything good?"

I almost laughed at the thought that, at that moment, I was watching the pulsing of his throat as he swallowed the water, but that wasn't an answer I felt that I could share. I motioned to the TV with the remote instead. "I'm watching Anderson and Sanjay save the world."

"Huh?"

"I'm a bit of a cable news junkie," I explained. "It's some CNN special with Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta. In fifteen minutes, we can watch Christiane Amanpour singlehandedly take on terrorism."

He chuckled at my sarcastic enthusiasm, and we sat together in silence, watching the screen in front of us, waiting for the return from the commercial break. My focus was absolutely shot. Though my eyes stared straight ahead, my consciousness was centered on the silhouette that dominated my peripheral vision. My body was acutely aware of every shift of his form, every breath, and every turn of his head in my direction. My mind replayed the events of the evening, centering on the feel of his body pressed against mine after he finally managed to drag me to the dance floor. When I had finally relented, I promised myself that it would be just the one dance and then I'd find an excuse to bow out. He wasn't having that and, for nearly forty-five minutes, he somehow managed to keep me upright through a string of songs, ranging from slow to insanely fast. For the first time in my life, I had actually felt graceful and beautiful while dancing, as if I belonged on that floor. As if I belonged with him.

The idea terrified and excited me, all at once. I knew my time was running short. I couldn't continue this way, and it wasn't fair to drag Edward along while I tried to figure it all out. It had been so long since the last time I had even remotely entertained the idea of dating, and back then, I didn't have nearly as many things to take into consideration. This was an entirely new situation, and I was unsure as to the best way to handle it.

I didn't need Alice's meddling to convince me that Edward was waiting for me. I knew there was something there, and God, did I want to find out what it was. I was grateful that he had been so patient and allowed me to have the time I needed to work out my issues, but I couldn't continue to string him along like I had been. I needed to figure this out. Soon.

I noticed that he was fidgeting on the other side of the couch, and it snapped me from my inner debate. I turned my attention to him, and watched as I cautiously tried to figure out what was wrong. He looked uncomfortable as he turned to face me, an elbow propped on the back of the couch while he distractedly scratched his eyebrow with his thumb. He appeared to be searching for words, and my heart leapt into my throat at the expression of guilt that dominated his features.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it," he finally voiced, as I swallowed nervously before he continued, "but I'm really sorry about what Lauren said to you."

I wasn't sure what to say and ended up muttering through a few stutter starts before finally croaking out, "Don't worry about it."

He still looked as though he was wracked with guilt as he inched closer, placing his hand over mine that rested on my knee. "No, really. I pissed her off that day by turning her down, and she took it out on you. It wasn't fair, and I'm sorry."

I had a difficult time lifting my gaze from where our hands met, too absorbed in watching his thumb move side to side over the back of my hand. When I was finally able to collect my thoughts, I looked up into remorseful green eyes.

"It wasn't you," I reassured him. "She's always been like that when it comes to me. She just took it further than usual this time."

He started to say something, and I shook my head, indicating that I wasn't finished. "I can usually handle whatever she says about me, but she caught me off guard this time with how malicious she was willing to be to make a point."

His hand moved from mine and neared my face. I hadn't realized that I had started crying until he began brushing the wetness away with his thumb, and I was immediately upset with myself for allowing my anger with Lauren to manifest itself as tears yet again. I furiously began wiping them away and mumbled, "Stupid angry tears."

The strong, soft hand that I had brushed aside in my attempt to suppress my crying took over again as I focused on breathing deeply, twisting my own hands in my lap, trying to will the tears to stop for good.

"Don't listen to her," he said forcefully.

My eyes connected with his again. "I usually don't."

"You shouldn't _ever_," he urged, almost pleading. "She's jealous, plain and simple. She's a miserable little troll with no redeeming qualities and feels threatened by you. You're so much better than her in so many ways."

It was late and I didn't want to talk about Lauren any longer, so I decided to try and lighten the mood. I was running on entirely way too little sleep to have a deep conversation. "Well, it's a good thing she sets such a low standard. It doesn't take much effort to be better."

He looked like he wanted to say more, perhaps reprimand me for my self-deprecation, but I started to pull away. I knew that the house would be full of noise and activity in just a few hours, so both of us needed to sleep while we could. I stood to fold the blanket, draping it over the arm of the couch for the time being. I would put it away tomorrow.

I laughed quietly as a thought crossed my mind. "Besides, Lauren's going to be caught by surprise soon. She won't be too happy."

I looked over at him to see his head tilted and brow furrowed. "What's going to happen?"

More paranoid than I should have been, I looked around and listened for movement in the house. When I was sure I heard nothing but the two of us, I turned back to him. "Nobody knows this yet, so you can't say a word."

He nodded. "Okay?"

"You know Fred, right? One of the Sales Managers?" He nodded in acknowledgement, and I continued. "He's retiring. Soon. We're working on the details before it's announced so that the transition is smooth, but Peter will be offering the position to Rosalie in the very near future."

He burst into laughter, then immediately tried to stifle it so he didn't wake the whole house. "So Rosalie's going to be Lauren's supervisor?"

I laughed with him. "Yeah, can you imagine how that's going to go? We're going to have to keep popcorn at the ready once it's official, because _this_ will be highly entertaining."

We both laughed at the idea of Lauren taking orders from Rosalie for a few moments before I remembered the time. "I should probably call it a night," I said. "Try and get some sleep."

He nodded as he stood. I turned the television off, setting the remote on the coffee table, and flipped off the light switch in the hall on my way out of the room. Edward started down the hall but turned to look at me as I placed a foot on the first step.

"Goodnight," he said, barely above a whisper.

"Night," I replied. "See you in the morning."

He gave me a small smile before turning again to walk down the hall, and I slowly dragged myself back upstairs and into my room.

Amazingly, I fell right to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. All too soon, I felt the mattress shift beside me. Barely conscious, I stretched my arms and legs, exceedingly aware of the ache in my joints caused by staying in the same position for hours. I rolled over and cracked one eye open before groaning and turning back over to my original position.

"Wakey, wakey," Alice practically sang.

"Too early," I rasped out. "Not functional." The ability to construct full sentences eluded me at this hour.

I pulled the comforter up over my head and heard her giggle. I never understood how she could wake up fully prepared to start the day with no time to allow her body to ease into consciousness.

"Is everyone up?" I asked, unable to vocalize anything louder than a scratchy whisper.

"Nope," she chirped with a little too much glee in her voice. "Just me. And now you."

I rolled back over to give her the evil eye. "Thanks for that, by the way."

She ignored my irritation and flopped onto her back, pulling the covers up to her chin. "So, did you have fun last night?"

"Mmhmm," I hummed.

"That's all I get?" she asked, affronted. "Elaborate, please. I saw you dancing with Edward."

I buried my face in my pillow. "Alice, I'm still trying to wake up. You can't expect me to be coherent yet."

Apparently she did, because she kept chattering away about the night before. The silver lining was that I wasn't required to speak while Alice treated me to a minute by minute account of what I had missed while I was backstage working on future deals with the band.

It didn't last as long as I would have liked because, before long, Alice turned things back on me. "So, what's going on with you and Edward?"

"I don't know," I said, not meeting her gaze.

"You don't know?" she asked, exasperated. "Come on! You guys are per—"

"Alice, don't," I begged. "Please. Just…don't."

I zoned out, thinking over everything I had contemplated the night before, when Alice shifted slightly closer and faced me again. I looked up at her to see two eyes imploring me to open up. I knew I had been driving her crazy by refusing since the very beginning to discuss anything to do with Edward. She and I could usually talk about anything, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to open up about this with her.

It was at that thought that I had an epiphany. I realized that the expectations my friends held were a major contributing factor as to why I was reluctant to date. While their intentions were good, they had no idea the tremendous amount of pressure they put on me to succeed in this part of my life. The expectations were always there, each time they attempted to talk me into going out with somebody, but it was easy for me to miss the otherwise obvious when I was indifferent, at best, about each of those prospects.

Edward was different, though. Not only had he found a permanent spot in our group, but I couldn't deny that my own reactions and feelings were significantly more serious than with any of those guys they had previously suggested for me. If I was being completely honest with myself, my reactions and feelings were significantly more serious than any guy I'd ever actually dated. Should I try and fail at this, the effects would be so much worse. It wouldn't only affect me and him, but all of our friends and Max, as well.

"What's wrong?" Her tone was softer than it had been earlier, and I recognized that I had to confide in her at some point. I needed to try and verbalize everything I was feeling if I wanted to make sense of any of it. I knew, though, that my new realization would hurt her.

"I just don't know where to start," I told her. "I'm so confused."

"Just start with whatever comes to mind first," she urged.

I was silent for a long while, consciously regulating my breaths, just to have something to focus on, while I tried to figure out where I wanted to begin. I took one deep breath to prepare myself before turning to look at Alice, who had been waiting so patiently.

"Whatever comes to mind first?" I repeated, and she nodded. I took another breath before continuing. "I feel like there is so much pressure on me regarding all of this."

She furrowed her brow before asking, "What do you mean?"

"Well, this for one," I said as I motioned between us. "Please don't be upset or think that I'm angry with you, but I realized that part of my hesitance is due to the pressure from you guys to make something happen."

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened to start speaking before I put a hand up to stop her. "Please, let me finish. I know you guys just want me to be happy, and I know that you didn't intend for me to feel pressured, but I can't help but feel like my every move is under constant scrutiny. The fact that you all are so close to him already just adds to that."

"How so?" she asked me, barely above a whisper. My heart ached at the sadness in her eyes. I knew that the guilt would tear her apart.

I hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out how to word what I wanted to say. "If he and I tried and it didn't work out, I wouldn't want it to be awkward for you guys. And I've been on the other side of things where friends end up taking sides and one person gets left behind. I don't want to be the cause of someone else going through that."

"That'll never happen," she promised. "What you went through? Those 'friends' that turned on you? They were assholes and not the kind of people you'd want to keep in your life, anyway. You know we'd never treat anybody the way that they treated you."

I nodded silently as I picked at a loose string on one of the blankets.

"What else?" she pressed, trying to keep me from closing off before I got everything out.

"I keep thinking about what Lauren said."

I was unable to finish the thought, interrupted by Alice's growl. "You know better than to listen to her and give any credibility to anything she says."

"I know," I agreed. "But that doesn't mean there wasn't something to take away from her words, regardless of how vicious they were."

Alice looked at me disbelievingly, waiting for me to continue. "I know that I'm not doing what she accused me of, trying to find a 'replacement daddy' for Max, but that doesn't mean that other people aren't going to think that. I know I shouldn't allow it to control my decisions, but I need to at least take it into consideration. If I want to be taken seriously professionally, I need to make sure that I tread carefully."

"I guess that makes sense," she agreed, resigned. "Just don't let it be a deciding factor. You can have a successful relationship that happens to overlap a successful career if you work at it. Look at Emmett and Rose. Nobody thinks twice about them dating and working together. You just need to find a balance like they have."

I nodded as I absorbed her words and thought about them. She made sense. Although people had talked when Emmett and Rosalie first got together, the novelty had soon worn off and, in no time, nobody thought anything of it.

"What else is bothering you?" she gently pushed to me continue. "Max?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "It's just so different now, you know?"

"Max adores Edward," she encouraged.

I laughed lightly. "Trust me, I'm well aware."

She joined in, laughing with me, and as if on cue, we heard Max running down the hall. Alice hadn't shut the door behind her when she came into my room, so we both watched as he ran straight past, rather than run in and hop on the bed like he did every other morning.

"Hey!" I called out. "Where are you going?"

"Downstairs!" he yelled back as we heard his little feet hit the steps.

"See?" I asked when Alice turned to look at me, and we both laughed harder.

"What were you going to say? What about Max?" she inquired, inviting me to continue.

"I guess there are a few things," I told her, and she nodded for me to continue. "There are just so many things to think about before I feel comfortable moving forward. What happens if we try and it doesn't work? What if I screw it up so badly that he doesn't want to even be friends? How do I explain to Max why his new best friend stopped coming around?"

"I can't imagine it not working," she started, and I gave her a look that was met with rolling eyes on her part. "Okay, _hypothetically_, if it doesn't work out, I can't picture it being on such bad terms that you can't even salvage a friendship. If it _did_ go that badly, you'd just have to handle it. There are a thousand things that you can't control, and Max will occasionally be disappointed. You can't shield him from everything. If something happened, you'd figure it out and Max would deal with it."

"I suppose," I mumbled while staring at the ceiling. I took a few moments before delving into the bigger issue. "Everything was different the last time I dated. I feel like I'm starting at the beginning here. I have so much more to take into consideration now. It seems unfair to ask someone to not only take me on, but a kid as well. Max and I are a package deal, and it seems presumptuous to ask someone to step into a ready-made family. We have to be a pretty daunting situation to walk into."

"You do realize that if it was a deal-breaker he wouldn't be here, right?" She said it so matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and yet the thought hadn't even occurred to me once. "He's known since day one, and yet he's still here, waiting."

She gave me a moment to think about her words. I had so many thoughts now swirling in my head that I couldn't speak yet. As if knowing where my next worry would stem from, Alice cut my thoughts off before they could fully form. "And he's not just putting on an act to impress you. He truly cares about that kid."

We were silent for awhile. Alice cuddled closer to my side, allowing me time to think. I lost all track of time and was brought back into reality when I heard Rosalie at the door.

"You had a slumber party without me?"

I rolled onto my side, facing the door, and laughed as Alice flipped over and motioned her into the room. She walked around the bed, climbing in behind me.

"So, what'd I miss?" she asked. She had pushed herself up onto one elbow and propped her chin on my arm so that she could see over me to look at Alice.

"Bella just had a breakthrough," Alice chirped. "You missed it."

"Really?" she asked, with more than a little surprise.

I rolled to my belly so that I could bury my face into the pillow. Rosalie didn't move, she just allowed her chin to fall to my back. As Alice filled her in, and I groaned into my pillow, Rosalie shifted to lay her hands on top of each other at the center of my back to better prop her chin.

"You know," Alice started before she began giggling at whatever thought she was trying to share, "I thought for sure I was going to have to convince you that he was interested. I came in here prepared to argue that he wasn't just being nice."

I angled my head slightly so that I could peek at her with one eye and laughed while mumbling into the pillow, "I did think that for awhile, but there comes a point where even _I_ can't deny what's in front of me."

I chuckled lightly with her as she giggled at my admission. "It was a scary realization but strangely comforting to know that once I get my shit figured out, it won't be for nothing. I'd hate to put myself through all of this just to get turned down in the end."

Deciding to give me a reprieve, they changed the topic to something mindless and started making plans to meet at Alice's salon for mani/pedi's the following weekend. A shuffling in the hall brought conversation to a halt as the three of us stopped to look, only to see Emmett standing quietly in the doorway. He walked away without saying a word, and after a moment, we all picked up the conversation where we left off.

Before we knew it, Emmett was back at the door having dragged both Jasper and Edward with him, the two appearing to be just as confused as we were. Emmett flipped his phone open, and before we could comprehend what was happening, he was taking pictures of us.

"What the hell?" Rosalie yelled to him.

"What?" he shrugged. "How often does a guy walk in on three hot girls in bed together?"

Alice threw a pillow at him as Jasper and Edward shook their heads disapprovingly, though their condemnation of his actions was negated by the grins and laughs they were unsuccessfully attempting to stifle.

The guys left us before they could get into trouble, and we slowly rolled ourselves out of bed. Alice and Rosalie both headed out for showers, while I threw my hair into a ponytail and changed into jeans and a shirt before heading downstairs. When I got down there, the guys and Max were sitting in the living room, halfway through the muffins I had made the night before, judging by the napkins and cupcake cups scattered over the coffee table.

"You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity," I quoted on reflex.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Emmett's head jerk in my direction. "Are you really ticked about the picture?"

"Guilty conscience?" I teased then pointed to the TV playing _Toy Story_. "I was quoting the movie."

I walked over and sat on the floor behind Max, pulling him backwards onto my lap as I leaned back against the chair. He barely registered the movement, his eyes never leaving the screen. I laughed as I snapped my fingers in front of his face. "Hey. Wake up. There's a whole world outside of that little box."

He shook his head slightly before turning to look at me in almost a dead stare, not saying a word.

"My God, he's in a Pixar-induced trance!" Jasper laughed, causing the rest of us to laugh when Max silently turned back to the television.

I gave Max about ten more minutes to enjoy his stupor before shutting the movie off and urging him up the stairs to change him out of his pajamas. It wasn't without a little struggle.

I hadn't paid much attention to the state of him room when I'd walked in the previous night to check on him. In the light of day, the only word that came to mind was 'disaster.'

"Max, did you play with every single toy that you own?" I screeched from shock.

I stood in the middle of the room, unable to figure out where to even begin. I looked over at Max, equal parts shame and fear dominating his features.

"What's the rule?"

He looked up at me, trying to gauge my mood, but stayed silent.

"Max? What's the rule?"

"Put my toys away when I'm done," he mumbled toward the floor.

I sighed as I leaned down to start picking things up. "Okay, so get to it. Start putting them away."

On my way to the toy box, I stopped to flip on his little stereo and hit play on the CD that idled inside. A compilation of Disney music started to play as we worked in tandem to clear the floor. Max picked up the bigger toys, while I focused on the smaller ones and puzzle pieces that would have taken him forever if I had left the task to him.

Once we managed to get everything back in its place—a good twenty minutes later—I helped Max change his clothes and sent him back downstairs. I walked back over to the closet, pulling out the hamper so I could start sorting. Three piles began to grow in the middle of the floor, until the hamper was empty. As I stripped the sheets off the bed, the track changed on the CD that was still running.

"Interesting song."

I jumped, startled, and turned to the source. "Jesus, Alice. You scared me. Don't sneak up on me like that."

She giggled and stepped through the doorway, casually walking right to the CD player and turning the volume up a couple notches. I listened passively as I worked and immediately understood what Alice had found so 'interesting' about the song. The lyrics to the song from _Hercules_ perfectly detailed everything I'd been going through, everything I'd been trying to do until recently. Deny.

_No chance, no way, I won't say it no, no  
You swoon, you sigh, why deny it, uh oh_

Once I had the sheets off of Max's bed and untangled from the blankets, I rolled them into a ball as I focused on the words. As the song continued, I couldn't stop the mental image of Alice and Rosalie as the Muses, singing these lyrics. I chuckled lightly as I sat down on the floor next to Alice, our backs against the bed. It was all too fitting.

_Face it like a grown up, when ya gonna own up that you got, got, got it bad_

I shook my head, smiling as I listened to the words, and tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach attempting to figure out an escape route. Now that I had made the decision to stop acting like a neurotic freak with an irrational fear of dating, I was dealing with a whole new set of nerves. These nerves, however, were a hell of a lot more enjoyable than the old ones.

I pushed up off the floor before the song finished and grabbed the ball of sheets, tossing them into a laundry basket, and I shut the CD player off. Alice followed behind as I headed into my room to do the same thing to my sheets before we headed downstairs. Alice leaned a hip against the dryer while I dropped one set of sheets into the washer.

"So, I'm thinking about getting a puppy," she said nonchalantly, and I wanted to hug her for not forcing me to speak about what I knew was on both of our minds.

"Really?" I asked, somewhat surprised. She hadn't expressed an interest in pets so it seemed somewhat out of the blue.

"Yeah," she sighed. "We're not ready for the kid thing yet. Right now, it's too convenient to borrow Max and then drop him back off before he has a meltdown. So, I'm thinking a dog is a good first step."

"Should I be offended?" I asked, amused. "I'm not sure, but I think you might have just compared my kid to a dog. Or maybe you compared your future kids to a dog. I'm still trying to decode that statement."

She punched my shoulder and laughed while I pondered the meaning of her words. "Shut up. I'm serious. I think I'm ready for a puppy. Something small and portable, that I can take into work with me. Just tuck it under my arm and go."

"It's an animal, Alice. Not an accessory." Her logic never failed to amuse me.

"If you pick the right one, it can be both," she joked.

"Well, if you're serious, you should go talk to Maggie," I suggested. "I know she has a litter right now that she's fostering. She can probably find whatever breed you're looking for or at least point you in the right direction."

"What does she have now?" Alice asked.

"Not sure," I told her as I walked to the door of the laundry room so I could yell down the hall. "Max!"

"Yeah?" his little voice responded.

"What kind of puppies does Maggie have?"

"Brown!" he yelled back.

Alice and I both laughed, and I shrugged. "Well, that was helpful."

I started the washing machine and followed behind Alice toward the sounds of activity in the living room, ready to face the day with my newfound clarity.


	13. Moving Forward

**A couple notes: There's a little section of radio-speak in this chapter. When you get to it, for anyone unfamiliar with radio, "potting up" is sliding the little bar on the board to turn the volume up on a source, Marti unit is the portable unit that lets a jock broadcast from outside of the studio, "fired a bed" just means starting the talkover music, "cue" lets the person in the studio hear a source without it going live on the air. **

**There are two songs used in this chapter if you want to look them up. The Old 97's "Dance with Me" and The Black Crowes "Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye"**

**Thank you again, as always, to Beans827 and Shug. I couldn't ask for two better betas!**

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EPOV

"So, I'll ship out some CDs and other promotional materials when I get back to LA, and then I'll call you next week to finalize the meet-and-greets and in-studio appearances."

I shrugged my jacket on as I stood from the table. "Sounds good."

I had just spent the past two hours with the most obnoxious record rep I had ever met. It wasn't just enthusiasm for the job; that would have been something I could have appreciated. No, this guy got off on name-dropping all of the artists he represented and found ways to attach his own name to their personal lives as much as possible. I couldn't complain, though; he was setting me up with a bunch of kick ass promotions for the station. I could indulge his ego for the duration of lunch in trade.

We said our goodbyes and headed in opposite directions. As I zigzagged through the people walking the sidewalks, making my way back to the station, I thought about how quickly I had fallen into step with this job. Granted, it wasn't a huge leap from things I had done before, but I did have considerably more responsibility than my previous job. I didn't feel pressured by it though. Instead, it was a comfortable transition. Almost second-nature.

I got along well with the rest of the staff, had managed to get Lauren off of my back and, if I was lucky, off of Bella's. I hadn't been able to avoid her when the remote that she had scheduled me for had finally rolled around. Since we both had to be there, I'd been stuck in the station van with her on the ride to and from, not to mention the two hour duration of the broadcast. Even after I'd turned down her initial invitation to dinner when she had first told me about the remote, she hadn't backed off. We hadn't even made it around the block on our way back to the office before she suggested that we 'do something' after we dropped the van back off in the garage. I'd declined yet again, only to be met with what was supposed to be a seductive urging for me to reconsider.

That was when I'd asked her to reconsider.

I was pretty sure she'd gotten the hint when I reminded her of the rumors that she had filled me in on and wondered aloud how interested Peter would be to hear my account. I internally laughed as her posture stiffened and she glared at me. She didn't say anything though. We both knew that her job was hanging by a thread and I had just made it perfectly clear where my loyalties were.

I felt guilty for a moment; tattling wasn't my thing. One of the many problems in Chicago was how quick certain people were to run to James with information, and I wanted to avoid being that kind of person. The circumstances were different here though. Instead of blatant lies or deliberately misguided interpretations of the truth in order to get a rival fired, I was simply trying to prevent Lauren from creating a hostile atmosphere for someone I cared about and who didn't deserve this treatment.

It was no surprise then that over the past few days, instead of shameless flirting, I had been greeted with death glares. It was a welcome change. As an added bonus, Jessica seemed to have backed off by default. She was never quite as bad as Lauren, but she was a very close second. Whether she wasn't allowed to continue flirting with me if Lauren couldn't, or if she was too scared, thinking I would threaten her as well, I wasn't sure, but I couldn't say that I cared all that much.

I ducked through the doors of the office building and stepped into the elevator just as the doors closed. Once I reached the correct floor, I headed directly to the studio, expecting to see Emmett. Jasper was on a remote at some car dealership, and Emmett was supposed to be running the board since Kate was on vacation.

"Hey," I greeted, confused but certainly not disappointed to see her. "What are you doing in here?"

"A client dropped by without calling first, wanting to record a new spot, so Emmett had to take off," Bella explained. "Everyone was gone or busy so I told him not to worry, I'd cover."

I stepped farther inside, taking note of all the reports, Pollstar magazines, and other assorted papers spread across every available flat surface while Bella scribbled away on a legal pad, apparently multitasking.

"I didn't know you knew how to do this," I said, motioning in the general direction of the board.

"Yeah," she replied, nodding. "I used to do this stuff once upon a time."

"Really? What made you stop?" I asked, curious. Her voice was perfect for on-air work, as proven by that strip club commercial Emmett tricked her into recording, so it surprised me that she hadn't been pulled in to at least cover shifts if she already knew how to do it.

"Not really my thing," she said as she shrugged. "I was happy to move away from it. I had a tendency to go a little stir crazy, sitting in a studio for hours just to speak for thirty seconds every ten minutes."

"I can see that," I agreed as I laughed. "If I didn't have other things to do to keep me busy, I'd probably be annoyed too." My on-air shift only took up a couple hours of my day. The administrative work involved in running a radio station gave me plenty to do.

"So, how'd the meeting go?" she asked, changing the subject.

I rested my elbows on the counter, careful not to mess up her system. She did the same from the other side, minimizing the distance between us. It was something that had been happening frequently over the past couple weeks. She had opened up more, wasn't feeling the need to create physical distance between us, and just seemed all around less hesitant around me. I was fucking ecstatic.

"He was an obnoxious shit," I complained.

She laughed, most likely at my expression of annoyance. "I told you."

I nodded, acknowledging her warning this morning that this rep was one of the more irritating ones that the station had. "We worked a bunch of things out, a lot of promotions for the station. We have a couple things we'll need to work with you on though."

She nodded, understanding that some of the artists she had booked would be promoting themselves through the station as well.

Before we could continue, Jasper's voice interrupted from the small speaker that cued the Marti unit on the board. "Hello, Cleveland!"

I jerked my head toward the board as Bella laughed. "What the hell is that about?"

"They have him in a cherry picker –"

"A cherry picker?" I interrupted.

"I still haven't figured it out," she said, somewhat bewildered. "I guess one of the managers at the dealership is supposed to be up in a cherry picker until they sell so many cars. For some reason, they thought it would make for good radio to have Jasper switch places and broadcast from up there."

"Okay?" I was still confused. "But why is he greeting Cleveland?"

"I think the solitude is getting to him." She shrugged. "He's been living out his rock star fantasies for the last hour. He mentions other cities, but he seems to enjoy the cliché of acknowledging Cleveland the most. He keeps throwing random, oddly named cities in there too. You just missed Yeehaw Junction, Florida. I had to Google that one. I thought for sure he made it up. "

While we laughed, Jasper's voice came through the cue again. "Hello, Denver!"

This time he added fake crowd noises into his mic.

Almost immediately, he started again. "Hello . . . shit. What's the name of that city? Damn it. Bella? I know you're listening. What's the name of that city? You know, the one with the groundhog?"

She shook her head, amused, as she reached for her Blackberry and started typing something in.

"Wait, you actually know the answer to that?" I laughed, not sure whether or not to be impressed.

"Tens of thousands of dollars on a college education and I probably couldn't tell you a damn thing I learned in class. Ask me mindless questions like this and I don't even have to think about it."

A tone beeped through the cue when Jasper received the text message. "Yes! That's it! Thank you, Punxsutawney!"

"Where the hell is Punxsutawney?" I asked her. Clearly, she was correct about Jasper referencing obscure cities.

She gasped. "Pennsylvania—you mean you've never heard of Punxsutawney Phil? He only predicts spring _every_ Groundhog Day! Seriously, flip on Today or Good Morning America next Groundhog Day and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about it."

I chuckled at her mock offense. "You know, I'll probably never forget that now. Something important just disappeared from my brain to make room for that."

"Welcome to my world." She stretched an arm off to the side, in show as if presenting a grand prize on a game show.

Laughter tapered off as she stood closer to the board, ready to put Jasper on the air.

"I can take over now," I told her, feeling bad that she was covering for us. "You don't have to stick around."

"It's okay. This is his last break. Might as well see this sucker to the end."

The song came to an end and she fired a bed to play behind Jasper's break before potting him up. He spouted off random information about makes and models, rebates, and interest rates before closing out his broadcast. Bella faded the bed and started the commercial break before shutting off Jasper's feed and flipping him back into cue. He quickly told her goodbye and that he would see her when he got back to the station before we heard the telltale click and static of the Marti unit being shut off.

She flipped the cue back off and began to step away from the board. Too quickly for me to react, I saw her body trip backwards. She tried to brace herself on the chair, but the force of her fall caused it to roll backwards and slam against the wall just as she fell to the floor.

As quickly as I could, I ran around the counter to help her, immediately noticing the way her body was shaking.

"Are you okay?" I yelled to her in a panic, afraid that she had hurt herself.

The shaking that I thought was from sobs turned out to be her attempt to stifle laughter. Still sprawled out on the floor, she was unable to hold back any longer and a huge laugh finally burst through. I shook my head and let out a few chuckles of my own, now that the initial alarm over the situation had passed.

I slid my hand into her hair, feeling for any bumps in an attempt to make sure she hadn't hit her head when she landed. "Are you okay? Did you hit your head?"

"No," she squeaked out between laughs, focusing on the ceiling. "The chair broke my fall before it rolled away. It was a relatively soft landing."

I laughed again. "Can you get up?"

She didn't answer, just shook her head no.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, fearing that she had still managed to injure herself, even if her head was okay.

She shook her head again and pointed down toward her feet before sitting up. I looked down and started laughing harder at the cause of this debacle. The cord from a set of headphones that had been plugged into the board was wrapped around her right ankle. The Sennheiser's that we used gave us extra length to move around behind the board and had a tendency to pool at the floor when left plugged in. She had somehow managed to get tangled up in the excess while standing for that last break.

"How do you manage to always find something to trip over?" I asked, slightly incredulous, as I freed her from the wire.

"It's a gift," she sighed. "I learned long ago just to accept it and find the humor in it. It was getting old allowing it to embarrass me every time. I've learned to embrace it; it's all part of my charm." She looked so damn adorable lying on the floor, smiling up at me, and conversing as if this was a completely normal situation.

"That it is," I agreed as I offered my hand to pull her up off of the floor. She dusted off nonexistent dirt from her clothes and we left the studio, heading for our respective offices.

Just a couple hours later, I found myself at the same door I had left her at after disentangling her, watching the chaos inside. I had gone back to my office to finish generating logs through the weekend before deciding to call it a day around three. As I had neared her office, I could hear before I could see the shuffle of people and boxes inside. I stood at the door, watching as a couple of interns loaded large—and apparently heavy, judging by the reactions of the two college students—boxes onto dollies.

"Packing up and moving out?" I joked, and she looked up and smiled at me.

"No," she said, turning her attention back to the boxes. "I have to take Event Staff shirts to one of the venues. New hire packets and promotional materials, too."

I knew she had been busy, getting things ready for the summer concert season. They had been hiring part-time staff for the summer, getting ready for things to start kicking off soon.

"Just take those down to my car and load them in the back," she instructed the interns as she handed her keys over.

"Are they going with you to unload?" I asked as the two students navigated the dollies down the hall.

"No," she said. "I'll take care of it when I get there. Just taking advantage of the extra help while it's available."

She laughed, but I failed to find the humor in it. I had just watched two guys, who looked like they spent a fair amount of time in a gym, struggle to maneuver those six boxes around and stack them, and she was planning to do it all in reverse on her own?

"I'm coming with you."

"What?" she asked, genuinely confused. "That isn't necessary."

"Maybe not," I said, shrugging. "But you shouldn't have to haul those all by yourself."

"It's okay," she said. "Really. I'll manage. I'm sure you have your own work to do; you don't have to do mine too."

"Nope," I told her with a grin. "My work's done. I was just on my way out."

"Well, that makes it even worse," she said while she rolled her eyes. "Go home and relax. Your day starts a hell of a lot earlier than mine."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," I teased, then noticed that she looked a little uncomfortable and perhaps a little embarrassed. I softened my tone and placed my hand on her upper arm, gently running my thumb toward her shoulder. "It's okay to ask for help now and then, you know? No one will think less of you for accepting it when it's offered."

She took a deep breath and nodded solemnly before whispering, "Okay. Thank you."

By the time we made it to the garage, the interns were loading the last box into the back of her car. She hopped into the driver's seat while I climbed into the passenger seat, and we took off, headed to who knows where.

We wound through the streets for a while before she slowed down in front of a brick building with a large marquee hanging over a wall of glass doors. Instead of stopping, she coasted to the end of the building and turned down a side street before parking in front of a plain, gray door.

She opened the back of the car then walked away after telling me she'd be right back. I pulled a couple boxes right to the edge and watched as she unlocked the door and disappeared inside, only to reappear moments later with a dolly. I stacked the first three boxes as she tipped it backwards. I wanted so badly to take over and just do it all myself so that she wouldn't have to, but I knew I would be pushing it. She already felt uncomfortable about accepting help; I knew it would only make things worse if I were to take over completely while she simply stood there watching.

I followed her inside until she stopped by the bar. Before she could try and do it on her own, I walked over and put my hands on the sides of the top box before asking her where it went.

"I usually just leave them right here by the bar so they can put everything away later," she told me.

After unloading the three boxes, we headed back outside to repeat the process. This time, I managed to grab the dolly and start walking away while she was distracted by closing up the back of the car and locking up. I was almost to the door by the time she realized what had happened.

"I could've taken that, you know?" she said, pretending to be annoyed.

"I know." I grinned at her as I backed through the open door and laughed as she rolled her eyes at me and fought a smile. At least she wasn't angry.

She closed the door behind us as I made my way to the bar and unloaded the last three boxes.

"Is that it?" I looked around to see if there was anything else that I could do. I had no idea what I was looking for; the action was more one of reflex than anything else.

She sat at one of the bar stools and pulled a manila folder toward her that had been left sitting out. "I just need to go through this, sign off on some things and approve a couple orders. It shouldn't take me long."

"No rush," I told her as I looked around me. We were in a different venue than the one we had all gone to a couple weeks prior, but there were many similarities. It had a similar vibe to it and probably held about the same capacity.

"There's a radio behind the bar if you want to put some music on," she said. "I'm pretty sure there's an iHome back there since reception kinda sucks in here."

I stepped behind the bar and started searching while she flipped through paperwork, occasionally stopping to read something or scribble her signature. I found the iHome quickly, then stood in place while looking around for an outlet, quickly finding one nearby.

I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket and placed it in the cradle of the dock, setting it to shuffle through the music stored on the device. I stepped back over to where Bella was sitting, resting my elbows on the bar directly across from her and looking at what she was working on like a nosy bastard. We talked for a little while as the music played and she approved orders to restock the bar.

The song switched and Bella gasped, a smile lighting up her face. "I love this song."

"You know it?" I was a little surprised, since I knew very few people who would recognize it, especially by opening chords alone.

She laughed, setting her pen down as she reached for her purse. She pulled out her iPod and handed it to me. "Top 25," was all she said.

I flipped through the screens and scrolled through the playlists until I found her Top 25 most listened to songs. Sure enough, the song was on there. I took a moment to see what else she had on the playlist before I walked over and replaced my iPhone with her iPod as the song ended.

"What are you doing?" she asked, confused.

"You have good taste," I responded with a shrug.

We spent an hour sitting at that bar. I was sure that if I hadn't been there, Bella would have had her work done in about fifteen minutes. I kept distracting her, asking questions, wanting to know even the most mundane things about her.

She flipped the manila folder closed and laid her hands on top of it. "Done! I'm officially off the clock," she announced.

Neither of us made a move to leave now that she was finished. The changes between us over the past couple weeks were shifting even more in that moment, and her reluctance to move assured me that she felt it, too. I just didn't know what I needed to do to push past this and move us into the _next_ moment before the silence between us turned awkward. I knew that, if left to think about things, she would close off again. I needed to distract her and keep her right here with me. I just had to figure out how to do it without scaring her off.

At that moment, the song switched again and something clicked in my mind. I reached for her hand and pulled her off of the barstool before she had the chance to process that I had even moved. Her eyes were wide with surprise as they locked with mine. I just smiled, never breaking eye contact, walking backwards to where we would have more room.

"What are you doing?" she laughed.

"The song title says it all," I told her with a grin, letting the Old 97's song "Dance With Me" echo through the empty space.

"I –" she started to protest but I cut her off.

"You have flat shoes on, nobody's around to see you, and I didn't let you fall last time, did I?"

She laughed lightly and shook her head in amused defeat, allowing me to pull her closer and wrap one arm around her, my hand splayed over her lower back. The beat and tempo of the song was perfect. While dancing with her was amazing that night after the concert, it had been obvious to me that she was over-thinking things the entire time, very aware of the crowd around us. This time, though, I could keep her distracted, constantly on the move, so that she was only able to _feel_ the moment, not think about it.

She laughed every time I changed directions on her or caught her off-guard, and I couldn't help but laugh with her. It was so perfect—_we_ were so perfect. I just hoped she was ready to see it, to acknowledge it.

As the music built up, the lyrics leading to the final chorus intensifying, I matched it with my stare. I was desperate to see in her eyes that she was ready to move forward. She blinked quickly a few times as the song ended, as if confused by my sudden seriousness.

She studied me, trying to figure out the change. When a new song began, she lightly cleared her throat and started to back away, but I didn't loosen my grip. Instead, I pulled her ever so slightly closer, just enough to let her know my intent to stay right there, never breaking my gaze.

Her breathing sped up as I pulled the hand I had been holding in mine up to my shoulder and dropped it, silently asking her to hold both of her hands at my neck so I could wrap my arms around her.

I couldn't have planned the playlist more perfectly if I had tried. It was as if the shuffle function just knew what we needed. This song, The Black Crowes' "Bad Luck Blue Eyes, Goodbye", was much slower and more bluesy—a perfect complement to the change in atmosphere. Both songs had the added bonus of not necessarily being lyrically significant. I knew that she would analyze every second of this, and the stereotypical love songs may have been too much for her, may have said too much, and could have caused her to shut down.

I moved my head forward, just slightly, bringing my forehead to rest against hers. Her eyes drifted closed immediately upon contact, and I could tell she was taking steadying breaths by the way each one was distinctly measured. For a while, I just watched her, reveling in being allowed to remain so close and yet it wasn't close enough. Never close enough.

I shifted a bit, moving my forehead closer to her temple, and watched as her eyes fluttered opened to see what I was doing. Her own head tilted just slightly to look at me more directly. She was stretched as tall as she could get without trying to stay on her tiptoes, and I had bent to bring us more level with each other. I felt one of her hands move and curve around the back of my neck, the other resting just below, between my shoulder blades. We were so close that I could taste each breath she exhaled, and it took every ounce of self-control I had to not close the distance.

"Bella," I whispered. I wasn't sure if it was reflex or the beginning of a sentence.

She blinked rapidly a few times before taking a deep breath and holding it, releasing it seconds later. I knew I was starting to lose her. She was beginning to get self-conscious at the way I was watching her. I needed to keep her there, so I moved again, this time to rest my chin lightly on her shoulder, hoping that the lack of eye contact would help her get past her insecurity.

It didn't take long for me to feel the tension leave her body. I pulled her even more tightly against my frame and felt her mimic my stance, stretching to rest her own chin on my shoulder. One hand gripped the fabric of my shirt, almost as if she was afraid to let me go. As if I would allow it.

We were still moving with the music, but just barely. It was quickly fading into the background. All I could focus on was the sound of her breathing, inches from my ear.

"Tell me you feel this too," I begged in a whisper. She didn't respond, and just as I was starting to wonder if I'd acted too quickly, she nodded. I released a breath in relief, unable to fight a smile as I turned toward her ear, placing one small kiss underneath. "I need to hear you say it. Please?" I asked her, because I _did_ need to hear her say it. I needed to hear her verbally acknowledge this thing between us.

Her breaths were shaky as she tried to calm herself before speaking, and she tangled her fingers in my hair. "I feel it."

I laughed silently, so damn happy, and dropped my lips to her shoulder, right at the curve of her neck. Emboldened by the tightening of her grip, I kissed her again, just above that spot before pulling back to look at her.

A combination of emotions passed through her eyes: happy, nervous, anxious, and afraid. All were understandable, given her position.

"I'm scared," she said, barely above a whisper. "It's been so long. I don't even know—"

I cut her off before her insecurities could take over. "We'll figure it out together."

"My life is just so …" she trailed off. "I have so many things going on; it's not fair to ask you—"

"You aren't asking me," I assured her after cutting her off again. I knew she was talking about Max, that she was intimidated by the idea of balancing dating and parenting.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth, her expression pensive. She wanted to say more, but I couldn't allow her to dwell on the things she thought might be complications. I moved my left hand up to cup her jaw, tugging the lip free with my thumb as I repeated my earlier sentiment. "We'll figure it out."

She nodded, more to herself in an attempt to build her resolve than as a response to me. I couldn't hold back any longer so I moved in closer, slow enough to give her a chance to stop me if she wanted to. But she didn't, and I closed the distance, pressing my lips to hers. It took a moment, but she responded, tilting her head minutely to deepen the kiss. She parted her mouth slightly to exhale a shaky breath, and I took the opportunity to focus my attention on her bottom lip before switching to the top.

I kept waiting for the moment that the realization hit her and she withdrew, but thankfully it never came. My hand was still at her jaw and my thumb reflexively moved to her chin, pressing down with the faintest amount of pressure. She understood my intention and opened her mouth to me. As my thumb moved back up along her jaw, I angled my head further and my tongue searched for hers. The moment it found what it was looking for, I knew that every second I had waited for her to be ready was worth it.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, completely overwhelmed and wrapped up in each other, exploring each other, but a loud bang from a nearby hallway shattered the moment. Her eyes were wide, slightly unfocused, and two voices echoed as they neared.

"They're here early," she whispered. We'd known that people would start showing up to prepare for a show this evening, but we hadn't expected to still be here when it was time for them to arrive.

I could tell by the sound of the voices that we had a few precious seconds before they reached us, so I took advantage of that last moment of privacy and placed a quick, chaste kiss on her lips to reassure her. I didn't want the way we were ripped from our bubble—startled from the slam of an industrial door—to make her regret anything or cause her to think that I may have regretted any of it.

We walked back to the bar so that she could gather her things just as two men stepped out from the hall. She collected herself, greeting the two—the House Manager and a bartender—and introduced them to me. She handed the folder full of orders that she had signed to the House Manager, and after a few minutes of discussing upcoming events, we left the venue.

She fumbled with her keys before opening the door. I watched her as I sat down and closed the passenger door. She stared, unseeing, at the steering wheel, clearly lost in her own little world. I wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

"Are you okay?" I asked, somewhat hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer.

Slowly, she snapped back to reality and turned her head toward me. Her eyes sought mine for a moment before a smile started to spread and she nodded. "More than okay."

She radiated beauty, beaming at me, and a wave of relief washed over me. I hated that I had lost control over the situation when that door slammed; that I couldn't make sure she felt comfortable with what happened between us before we parted. I had been so afraid that she would feel uneasy and unsure, but there was no doubt in my mind that, at least for right now, she really was happy.

I reached over and slid my hand around her neck, pulling her closer as I leaned toward her and kissed her again.

"I'm so glad I can do that now," I said against her lips, causing her to giggle.

We eventually parted so that she could start the car and we could get out of there before more employees showed up for their shifts. She turned her attention to the road, and we were pulling back into the garage in no time at all. I would be leaving her here; she still had to run upstairs to pick up her things, but I was done and would head straight home from the garage. I wasn't ready to let go yet, so I walked over to her side of the car and tugged her closer to me as I leaned back against the door.

"Will you do something for me?" I said as I pulled her against me, my arms wrapped around her shoulders and my lips in her hair.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Tonight, don't think about things too much." I tightened my arms as she leaned into me. I knew that once there was distance between us, she would start to question herself. She would question us. I needed to reassure her. "Don't doubt this. Don't doubt me."

She looked up at me, searching my eyes, gauging my sincerity. Finding what she was looking for, she nodded.

I leaned down closer to her, and just before my lips touched hers again, I whispered, "Promise me?"

"I promise," she said softly just before pushing up onto her toes to close the distance.


	14. Everybody Knows

**Thanks, as always, to my betas Beans827 and Shug. Also, a big thanks to The Twilight Awards for rec'ing this story on Twitter. And thanks to anyone else who has rec'ed. Word of mouth is so important, so I truly appreciate those of you that think of this story when you're recommending stories to people.**

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BPOV

I only promised not to over-think. It was a damn good thing that thinking in general was still an option, because that was apparently all that I was capable of doing. Who knew that letting every single wall, ones I had spent the past four years painstakingly building, crumble could feel so good?

I should have been terrified at that moment. This afternoon had changed everything. Sure, I had been mentally preparing myself for this step, but preparing and doing are two vastly different concepts.

And it was strange how quickly my brain switched. I had gone from doing everything in my power to deny the feelings he evoked in me to absolutely not wanting to leave him in that garage, all in barely more than a month. While it couldn't ever be considered impulsive, it was certainly the biggest, fastest change I had experienced since moving back.

If it hadn't been for the fact that I was running extremely short on time, and needed to pick Max up so that I could get him to soccer practice on time, I would probably still be there with Edward. Maybe not there in the garage, specifically; I didn't need to put on a show for the entire building as hundreds wandered out at the end of the day to find their cars. But I would definitely still be with him, basking in the thrill and novelty of whatever this was. I wasn't ready to try to define any of it quite yet, but I sure as hell planned to enjoy it.

Instead, for the time being, I found myself pacing parallel to the soccer field. I was restless and couldn't stop moving. If I stopped, I subconsciously still found some way to move: tapping my foot, wringing my hands, or biting my nails. I was full of nervous energy and enjoying every second of it. I was also pretty sure my heart rate hadn't completely slowed back down to normal yet.

By the time practice was over, I was certain that my feet had logged a few miles due to all the pacing. I quickly loaded Max into the back of the car as I called in an order for take-out that I could swing by and pick up on the way home since I knew that there was no way that my newly impaired attention span would allow me to attempt to cook something.

The rest of the evening passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was laying in bed, ready to call it a night. For the first time in over a month, I wasn't trying to talk myself out of anything. I was still frustratingly unable to sleep, but I could hardly complain about the memories of the afternoon that flashed behind my eyelids. Of all the ways my mind had conjured up in the past couple weeks that it might happen, in the middle of an empty dance floor with my iPod reverberating off of the walls right after approving an order for a dozen kegs for the weekend hadn't been one of them.

And yet, now, I couldn't imagine it happening any differently.

It wasn't some grand event. There was no big gesture. It was spontaneous and it was perfect.

Even though feelings of doubt had begun to creep up—one final attempt by my self-conscious inner voice to remind me that by putting myself out there, I would be putting myself at risk—I was somehow able to find the strength to push it aside and let go.

And it was all due to him. The way that he looked at me, the way that he held me… I had never felt more secure or more cherished. I had closed my eyes, resting my chin on his shoulder for one final internal pep talk. He had been unwavering from the beginning—never showing even the slightest interest in anybody else. Lauren and Jessica weren't the only interested parties in the office. There were plenty of women hoping to catch his attention, and many of them were nice, honest, trustworthy, and—though I hated to admit that I had compared myself to them in moments of doubt—pretty. And yet, somehow, I was the one that he had noticed. Even with all of my issues, my baggage, and my child, he'd waited for me, even though there were no guarantees that I would ever allow him in.

Just as I had been trying to figure out if and how I could tell him that I was ready, he spoke up. He'd asked me to acknowledge this thing between us, and it terrified me. I wished I had been able to answer without hesitation, but even though I had no doubt that I felt the same, there was something frightening and intimidating about verbalizing it. It would be out there and I wouldn't be able to take it back. The idea of him knowing wasn't what scared me. Strangely, it was admitting it to myself that frightened me the most.

But he had asked, so I did. And his reaction, the utter elation he'd showed through those tiny kisses at my neck and shoulder, emboldened me and gave me the confidence that I needed to admit that I was scared. Just because I was ready, didn't mean I wasn't still a little intimidated. But he'd anticipated each fear, reassuring me before I could even finish the thought. Just the idea that he knew me well enough already to be able to foresee my uncertainties and bring them to a halt at once just encouraged me further. It amazed me how quickly he could wash away doubts that I had held onto for so long that I had been certain, up to that point, were a permanent part of my psyche.

Just when I hadn't thought the moment could get any better, he kissed me. I could've tried to convince myself that it was the void of the past four years that made it so good, but I knew better. I knew that I had never felt anything like it before. For the first time, a kiss meant so much more than a means to an end, an obligation as part of the relationship, or a way to be claimed as a possession. Nobody had ever made me feel so treasured, so adored. Only Edward.

And I felt it with each subsequent kiss.

The memory of each one played on repeat for hours until the exhaustion finally prevailed, but as soon as the alarm shocked my system back into consciousness, the highlight reel took over again.

I was a mess of nerves going back to work. Not that I wanted to hide it from our friends; I just wasn't ready for everybody's commentary. The nerves increased as I neared the studio, and relief swept over me when I saw that the on-air light was on, meaning that, at least for a moment, their attention would be occupied elsewhere.

I slipped in quietly so that the sounds of my shuffling around wouldn't be picked up by any of the mics. Though my eyes wanted to seek out for Edward first, my sense of self-preservation forced me to assess Emmett and Jasper to see if they knew anything or if they would figure it out.

When both looked up quickly, offered a half-hearted wave, and then looked back at each other without interrupting the conversation they were having on-air, I relaxed further and allowed myself to look at Edward. He was already watching me, smiling, and he winked when I smiled back at him.

My heart thundered in my chest as I took my seat, waiting for them to finish. It took a little while, but they eventually started a block of music, turning their mics off.

"Hey hey," Emmett greeted as he turned around. "What'd you get into last night?"

I stared at him blankly for a few seconds, thinking we were already busted. When I noticed that he was giving me a funny look, I realized that he didn't know anything and my silence was doing nothing but making me look like an idiot.

"Soccer practice," I answered, my voice raising an octave higher than normal and the words blurring together.

Edward chuckled lightly, most likely at my obvious paranoia, and I glanced up at him before quickly averting my eyes when I realized I definitely wouldn't be able to keep up the charade if I allowed my eyes to truly connect with his.

Before I could completely fall apart and give it all away, the door opened and Rosalie walked in. I was thankful for the distraction, suddenly aware that I was a pretty bad actress and would have crumbled in less than thirty seconds.

I didn't hear what anybody was saying as they greeted her, too busy mentally berating myself and laughing at my lack of poker face. Rosalie came over to the credenza and placed two boxes next to me. I could instantly smell the sugary sweetness, only barely registering the fact that Emmett was complaining.

"Hold on a second," Rosalie told him, annoyance seeping into her voice. "Christ, you're worse than a kid sometimes."

She opened the top box and the smell of a dozen fresh donuts invaded the room. She closed it after a quick inventory of the contents and moved that box to the bottom, opening the second.

"I just had a meeting this morning with the manager at the bakery, and they gave me these to bring back," she explained while pointing to one specific donut in the box. "There's only one."

"Only one what?" Emmett called over, irritated. "What kind is it?"

I grabbed it and took a bite, then mumbled through the mouthful. "Blueberry."

Emmett jumped up from his seat and ran over. "What? You gave her the only blueberry?"

"What can I say, Em? She loves me more." I dramatically took another bite and moaned, just to show off.

Rosalie shrugged and deadpanned, "She's right, you know."

Jasper, Edward, and I erupted into laughter while Rosalie fought her own laugh and Emmett feigned offense. He quickly stacked three donuts and stormed back to his seat giving the two of us the evil eye the entire way.

"Big baby," she teased as she took out one for herself and carried the two boxes over to the guys before returning to sit next to me.

She and I finished our donuts and whispered back and forth while the guys went back on-air. When the spot block started, Rosalie hopped off the credenza and started pulling at her pants. "Damn it. Is it too much to expect that if you spend fifty bucks on a pair of panties that they won't attempt to slice you in half?"

I started laughing, stopping myself just short of snorting, at her lack of class. I smoothed her hair as if petting a dog, and in the most condescending tone I could muster, I said, "You're so lucky you're pretty."

She turned her head to me, brow furrowed. "Huh?"

I laughed harder at her confusion, registering three other laughs in the room.

"Seriously, Rose. Do you really think that if you didn't look like _this_," I said, using one hand to wave up and down, motioning to her body, "that you'd be able to get away with saying things like that?"

She smiled, strangely proud of my assessment, and I shook my head. It was true, though. She could be so crass at times, and yet guys were still falling all over themselves to be near her, acting as if she had just spoken the most profound words they had ever heard.

"Oh! I need your keys," she said, changing the subject.

I pulled them out of my purse and handed them to her. "Okay. Why?"

"I have to go to the dealership and renew their advertising in about an hour so I'm going to have them do an oil change while I'm there."

"Oh, yeah," I said, nodding. "I guess it is about due."

Conversation stalled as the guys went back on air. Rosalie hopped back up to sit beside me again, then rested her head on my shoulder.

"You okay?" I whispered.

"Yeah," she said through a yawn. "Just tired. I had to be up earlier than usual this morning and my body isn't used to it."

"Just go home after your meeting and take a nap," I told her. "You know you don't have to be here all day."

She shrugged. "I don't want to be like _some_ people, making an appearance just so I can say I was here and then disappear for the rest of the day."

"Trust me," I told her. "You have nothing to worry about. Everyone knows you work your ass off. You deserve to take an afternoon to relax."

She was always worried about making an extra effort and consistently went above and beyond for this job. She felt the need to prove herself as more than a pretty face. I had to laugh; if she only knew that she was guaranteed a promotion in the very near future because she had already proven herself a hundred times over.

"Maybe," she said, shrugging again.

The hour came to a close, and it was time for everyone to head their separate ways. As soon as we all stepped out of the studio, I was stopped by an intern. The venue yesterday was just the first of many that needed deliveries, and the interns were getting the next set ready down in one of the conference rooms where there was more room to spread out and pack up. Just as I was getting ready to walk with the intern so that I could show him what I needed, I felt a soft touch at my shoulder. I turned around to see Edward subtly smile as he lightly stroked the back of my arm from shoulder to elbow as he passed. The butterflies returned in full force, and I wanted nothing more than to follow him, but I was unfortunately needed downstairs.

An hour later, after pointing out what was needed for the next venue, I was standing in the middle of my office staring at the wall. Actually, I was staring at the large calendar on the wall, but I was sure it looked equally ridiculous. As I distractedly tapped the capped end of a thin dry erase marker against my bottom lip in thought, I felt a hand at my waist.

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading as I turned around. "Hey."

"Hey." Edward grinned as he dipped his head down to kiss me, and just like each time yesterday, I found myself nearly dizzy at the feel of his lips on mine.

We broke apart much sooner than I'd have liked, and after a few seconds of simply enjoying the moment, he drew his attention upwards, looking at the calendar I had been staring at prior to his very welcome interruption. His hand remained at my waist when I turned back around, and he gently ran his thumb back and forth, drawing an invisible half circle over my shirt.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked, studying the large plastic calendar with multicolored scribbles covering the majority of its surface.

"Trying to figure out where and when to add more shows," I told him, leaning back into him as I began to explain my system. "Each venue has its own color marker for accepted offers and signed contracts. The ones in yellow are offers we haven't heard back on yet."

"Don't you have a calendar on your computer to keep track of it all?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I find that being able to see the full year all at once really helps me figure out scheduling better than an electronic version. I can _literally_ see the big picture if I also track it on here."

We talked for a little while longer, and he seemed truly interested in my work and my anal-retentive processes. Eventually, the topic switched.

"So, did you happen to find a babysitter last night?" he asked, hopeful.

Before we parted in the garage, we had made tentative plans for Friday night. They were based, of course, on finding a sitter to keep Max, and I had told him I would call that evening. I didn't call.

"Not yet," I said hesitantly and immediately noticed the expression on his face drop. I quickly tried to reassure him. "No, please don't think I've changed my mind. I just started thinking and … I think I need to talk to Alice first."

He still looked somewhat unconvinced, and knots formed in my stomach. He had every reason to believe that I would end up questioning everything, regardless of the promise I had made.

"Alice?"

"Yeah, I realized that if she found out that the sitter knew about this," I said while motioned between us, using the little amount of space that was available between our bodies, "before she did, she'd kill me."

He immediately burst into laughter, and all my worry faded. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and kissed my temple. "I think you're right."

"I _know_ I'm right," I scoffed, enjoying the feel of his frame shaking with laughter against me.

Later that afternoon, I found myself sitting outside of Alice's salon, trying to work up the courage to walk in. After a few deep breaths, I grabbed the gift bag from the passenger seat and headed inside.

I greeted the receptionist who let me know that Alice was in her office and to head on back. I snaked my way through the salon, trying to avoid a contact high from the mix of chemicals in the air. The door to her office wasn't completely shut, so I knocked and opened it the rest of the way without waiting for a response.

"Bella!" she exclaimed, as she hopped up to hug me. "I wasn't expecting you here today!"

I forced a smile, my nerves growing by the second. I wasn't scared of her reaction; it would no doubt be a positive one. I was nervous about the exuberance of her response.

"Yeah, well, I just wanted to bring this over for you."

I handed her the bag and then fell onto the couch, chewing nervously at my lip and waiting for her reaction.

She dug through the tissue paper in the plain red gift bag and pulled out the pair of ice skates I had picked up at a sporting goods store on the way here. She looked at me in confusion but I didn't explain. I just waited for her to make the connection.

She looked back at the skates, and I could see the moment that it clicked. She laughed hysterically when she remembered the conversation we had a year ago after one of her failed attempts to set me up. She had been frustrated, stomping her foot and insisting that I would have to give in eventually. Out of annoyance at the situation, I had yelled, "And when hell freezes over, you and I will go skating with Satan."

I laughed silently as her body folded over on itself and she wiped away a few tears. I had been stressing on how to start this conversation. I couldn't bring myself to walk in and lay it all out there, gossiping like we were back in high school, so I decided to start with a joke.

"So you—" she started.

"Yes."

"And Edward?" she continued.

"Yes," I responded simply.

She squealed, and I cringed. "When?"

"Yesterday."

For some reason, I was unable to expand beyond one word answers. I hadn't had a chance to adjust to living it; apparently, I wasn't quite ready to talk about it yet either.

"Why the hell didn't you call me last night?" she yelled without a hint of anger in her voice as she launched across the room and hugged me.

She bounced on her knees beside me on the couch, and I laughed as I motioned to her. "I don't know, maybe because of this?"

She backhanded my shoulder, playfully. "Yeah, whatever." She pulled me into another hug. "I'm just happy for you."

"I know," I told her sincerely. Then with a laugh, I added, "I'm happy for me, too."

"So?" she asked, urging me to fill her in.

I sighed and dropped my head back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "I never knew it could be like that, Alice. And it was just a kiss. It was perfect and beautiful and … I've never felt like that before. Nobody has ever made me feel like that. He actually makes me lightheaded."

We both laughed at that, and I pulled my head back up and looked at her. She was beaming and watched me for a second before she started talking.

"Do you remember what you said the first time you told me about Chad?" she asked.

My brow furrowed. She never brought up Max's father if she could help it. She had never been a big fan of his; at best, she'd tolerated him when she had to be around him. I tried to think back but honestly couldn't remember the conversation in any great detail, so I shook my head, curious as to why she would bring him up _now_, of all times.

She chuckled to herself before filling me in on the big secret. "You said, and I quote, 'Eh, I guess he's all right.'"

We were both silent for a few seconds, staring at each other before we simultaneously burst into laughter.

"Are you trying to tell me things are different this time?" I asked her as the laughter began to fade, wiping a tear.

She sighed with a grin on her face. "That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you."

It took nearly an hour for me to convince Alice to let me go. She insisted that I replay the entirety of what had happened between me and Edward, and although I did give her a fairly detailed account, I tried to avoid a few specifics that I wanted to keep private. I exhaled in relief the moment I stepped out of the salon's doors to have that conversation over with, ready to relax the rest of the evening.

Maggie brought Max over as soon as they heard my car pull into the drive. I threw together a quick dinner, and we headed back out to the driveway so that Max could ride his little bike until it was time to head back inside and start the bedtime routine. I tried to be as attentive as possible, but I caught myself spacing out a few times with a goofy grin on my face.

Walking into work the next morning was another battle with nerves. The fact that Alice now knew meant that I was even less sure as to what I was about to walk into, and more than once I considered altering course and heading straight to my office. I realized, though, that I would simply be delaying the inevitable and perhaps getting it over with in a soundproof room would be the lesser of two evils.

The on-air light was on, and just as I breathed a sigh of relief at being able to slip in and assess the situation as I had the morning before, the light flicked back off. I whispered a soft 'fuck' at the tease.

I steeled myself with a deep breath and took that last step that would put me in view of everybody in the room before pushing the door open. Three heads turned in my direction: one crooked smile and two knowing smirks.

"How long did it take her?" I asked in defeat. Edward chuckled and reached one hand out toward me, calling me over to him. I stepped closer, slipping my hand into his, allowing him to pull me to his side. As soon as I was close enough, he dropped my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist.

Jasper threw his head back, laughing. "I don't think you were out of the parking lot."

I nodded, unsurprised by his words. "I'm impressed. I was certain she already had her finger on the send button before I stepped out of her office."

To my amazement, nobody mentioned anything else. I quickly relaxed and fell into conversation as if it was any other day after moving over to my normal spot before anybody had walked past the door and saw Edward holding me at his side. At the end of the hour, I was able to walk with them all, as usual, with no interruptions by interns. Although our friends were now very much aware of what happened on Tuesday, Edward and I kept our distance in the hall. I wasn't ready for the entire office to start talking, so we were trying to maintain subtlety as much as possible.

His fingertips trailed lightly at the small of my back when the guys left me at my office, causing me to need a moment once I stepped inside to gather myself. I somehow managed to complete quite a bit of my to-do list through the fog that seemed to have taken over my head, leaving me unable to focus on much with any amount of precision.

Rosalie stopped by at lunch, loaded down with bags of take-out, making my office rival any Chinese buffet in town.

"So," she said, looking at me pointedly. "Alice called me last night."

"I'm sure she did," I responded, not looking at her, as I pulled boxes out of the bags and laid them on the coffee table in front of the couch in the corner of my office.

I flinched when something hit my shoulder and laughed when a packet of soy sauce plopped on the table in front of me.

"You bitch," she teased. "Why didn't you tell me? I can't believe I had to hear it from her."

"Sorry," I said, not at all apologetic as I finally looked up at her, unsuccessfully fighting a smile. She grinned at me, letting me know she wasn't really angry.

"I can't believe I sat in that room yesterday and didn't pick up on a thing." She shook her head in disbelief, chastising herself and her lack of detection. "How did you pull that off? You're a shitty actress."

"You brought donuts." I shrugged as if donuts were an obvious answer. "Everyone was distracted."

I gave her the abbreviated version of what I told Alice the night before, finding myself unsurprised when Rosalie nodded to let me know she already knew all of the details rendering my commentary completely unnecessary. Once we finished with 'girl talk,' she called the guys over. We loaded plates and stepped out of the line of fire, knowing once they—specifically Emmett—made it over, it would be safer to distance ourselves from the food.

Rosalie and I had claimed the couch, resembling bookends the way we mirrored each other with one foot tucked underneath ourselves while the guys sat on the floor, rounding the coffee table. Edward sat below me, his right side pressed against my left leg. It was comforting to know that I wasn't the only one who felt the need for constant contact. Moving away and sitting on the opposite side of the studio this morning was torture now that I'd allowed myself to let him in.

"Why are eggrolls so good?" Rosalie asked rhetorically, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"It's like," Emmett started, then paused, deep in thought. "Someone said, 'Hey, I have all this shredded cabbage. What should I do with it?' And someone else said, 'wrap it up and deep fry it!'"

He glanced around the room at the odd looks directed at him before biting dramatically into his own eggroll, crunching loudly.

Conversation shifted, thankfully, and seemingly out of nowhere, Rosalie announced, "So, I have a meeting with Peter tomorrow."

She was looking at me, waiting for a reaction before Emmett spoke up. "Really? What about?"

I must have played dumb well enough because she shifted her focus to him and didn't return to assess me further. After mentally patting myself on the back for pulling it off two days in a row, I glanced down at Edward who was giving me a questioning look, his arm now snaked around my leg and his fingertips trailing lightly over my ankle. These seemingly innocent touches were going to kill me, I was certain.

I nodded imperceptibly, letting him know this was about the promotion. She was going to find out tomorrow with the official announcement being made on Monday morning.

"I have no idea," Rosalie said. "He said it was nothing bad. Maybe they're going to give me a big client or something. I can't think of anything else."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Jasper reassured her. Though she was speaking optimistically, her voice suggested that she was somewhat concerned, and he had picked up on it. "You're one of, if not, _the_ most reliable, consistent person in that department. If Peter said it's nothing bad, then believe it."

Everybody chimed in, agreeing with Jasper's assessment before diving back into our food. Before long, we finished up and everyone needed to head in separate directions once again. Edward hung back after the others dispersed, laughing at me as I sprayed Febreze all around my office.

"What?" I asked warily, suddenly self-conscious. "I don't want to smell lunch the rest of the afternoon."

I twisted the nozzle to close it before putting the bottle back in the cabinet. I felt Edward move in behind me and shivered when his hands settled at my waist for a moment before moving to wrap around me and hold me to his chest. His forehead rested against the back of my head.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

I knew he had been worried about how I would feel once everyone in our group knew. I felt terrible that all of my neuroses caused him to be on guard, but I couldn't fault him for it. I hadn't given him any reason to think I wouldn't be a wreck when they all found out, and, honestly, if they had subjected me to any of the teasing I had been expecting, then I probably would have been an awkward mess all day.

"Yeah. They've been surprisingly…" I trailed off, searching for the right word, "… normal?"

He laughed silently, and I squirmed a bit in reaction to the short bursts of breath tickling the back of my neck.

"You seem surprised by that," he responded, amused.

I shrugged. "I've known them too long. They don't typically _do_ normal."

He laughed a little more as he eased his hold and turned me around to face him. He seemed so calm and contented, and I took a moment to admire the effect it had on him. A thought popped into my head, relating to our abandoned conversation.

"They got it all out of their systems this morning before I got here, didn't they?"

His hands slid down my arms until they met mine, before tugging me slightly closer and leaning in until his face was inches from mine. "Maybe."

"Sorry about that." I felt bad that he had to deal with that on his own simply because I was too cowardly to face my friends and just accept their good-natured harassment. I started biting on my bottom lip, then immediately released it in self-consciousness when I realized his attention was drawn to the action.

"Don't be," he said, leaning in to kiss me and focusing on the spot that I had been attacking. "They weren't too bad."

We continued kissing, allowing it to deepen, and I recognized that I had never been this comfortable, this affectionate, so quickly with anybody before and, surprisingly, I didn't care. I didn't feel the need to slow down.

I couldn't stop the slow grin, and as soon as he noticed, Edward pulled back slightly.

"What?" he asked, his turn to be the self-conscious one. I smiled wider, finding humor rather than absurdity in the fact that I had so many issues that it would throw people off when my reactions presented nothing but pure happiness.

I stepped up onto my toes to close the distance again but had to pull away seconds later when we heard voices coming down the hall. Though the corner we were standing in couldn't be seen from the hall, if someone were stopping by to speak to me, the fraction of a second it would take them to turn their head upon entering the room wouldn't give us enough time to separate.

We each took a step back, listening to the voices until they faded as they passed my door and kept going. As soon as we were sure that nobody was planning to walk in, we looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"I don't think we're going to be able to keep this quiet for long," Edward said, still laughing.

"I'm pretty sure we're just setting ourselves up for failure," I teased.

He stepped closer, slipping one hand around to the back of my neck and running his thumb along my jaw and up under my ear. "This is one time I'll enjoy the crash and burn."


	15. Losing Track of Time

**Thanks, as always, to my betas Beans827 and Shug!  
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BPOV

"Stop it," I ordered, as my head tipped toward my shoulder in an attempt to block access and I fought a full-body shiver.

Edward laughed lightly, and I squirmed as his breath fanned across my neck, the tickle causing goose bumps to cover my body. I made a mental note to avoid tossing my hair up into a ponytail while at work, at least while we were trying to be covert. My bare neck seemed to be too tempting for him.

"Seriously. Knock it off." My inability to reign in my laugh negated the gravity of my demand.

"Okay, okay," he relented, his voice still laced with a hint of mischief. "Where were we?"

I shuffled a few papers around and brought up a small map of one of the venues. I was sitting in the chair at my desk and Edward was behind me, leaning on the back with his left arm while his right hand was propped on the edge of my desk, caging me in on one side as he looked over my shoulder.

"You can do the meet-and-greet in this room here," I said as I pointed to a block of space on the page, trying to ignore his proximity. "It's right off of the main floor."

"Okay," he said, letting me know that he was listening, even though the hand that was behind me had shifted and his index finger was lightly moving across the back of my neck in unidentifiable patterns.

I pointed to another space on the sheet of paper, trying to fight the chills that his touches were causing. "Or there's this room. It's technically backstage, so it's more convenient for the band, but we'd have to pull an extra person from security to make sure nobody wanders past this door."

"Which do you think we should use?" he asked.

I thought for a moment before answering. "Honestly, I'd just use the room backstage. Unless sound check runs way behind, the meet-and-greet will be over before the doors open. Most of the security staff will just be waiting around anyway, so assigning one or two to that room isn't an issue. It's a nicer room, too, and doesn't have the tables and chairs taking up most of the floor space that the other room has."

I could see him nod out of the corner of my eye as he continued to look over my shoulder. "We'll just use that room then."

We worked together for a little while longer, finalizing plans for the station's promotion of the upcoming concert. I had just opened the small lockbox in my desk drawer so that I could give Edward the comp tickets he would need for the winners when I heard the click of Peter's door across the hall. Within seconds, Rosalie thundered into my office.

"You dirty, dirty whore!"

I looked up, grinning at her and laughing at the massive smile gracing her face. She ran over and I stood from my chair to meet her halfway. She crushed me into a hug, almost knocking me off balance.

"How in the hell did you pull that off twice in one week? How did _you_, of all people, manage to hide something this big from me, _again_?" she asked, genuinely astonished. "How long have you known?"

Edward quietly excused himself from my office, and I looked back at Rosalie and shrugged. "A few weeks."

She slapped me on my shoulder, too happy to convincingly pretend to be angry at me. "I can't believe you. You could've given me a hint!"

"Where's the fun in that?" I asked her facetiously. My tone turned serious as I continued. "I told you that you had nothing to worry about, that you've already proven yourself. Do you believe me now?"

She calmed slightly, but the grin didn't fade. "Yeah, I think I'm finally starting to accept it."

We spent the next half hour talking about her new role before she had to leave to meet a client. I busied myself in paperwork before getting stuck in an impromptu conference call that lasted most of the afternoon. I hadn't even had a chance to talk to Edward again; all I got was a quick wave, a wink, and a 'see you at seven' mouthed from the doorway while I was on the call.

I was running behind by the time I left the office. I pulled up to the house to find that Alice was already there, having picked Max up from next door. She had insisted on keeping him rather than allowing me to call the sitter so that Edward and I could go out.

"Sorry, sorry," I apologized, breathless, as I ran inside and dropped my things off just inside the door.

Alice looked up from where she sat at the coffee table in the living room playing Candyland. "Don't worry about it. I went ahead and got Max's things packed. I just need his uniform for tomorrow. I couldn't find it."

I headed into the laundry room where the shorts and jersey were folded on the counter and brought them back out to her.

"You're sure you don't mind?" I asked her. "I can pick him up when we're done."

She waved me off. "Don't even think about it. He's staying. I don't want you watching the clock tonight."

I moved over to Max, kissing the top of his head. "How was school? What animals did they have?" I questioned him. He had been looking forward to this day for the past two weeks. His teacher had organized a visit from the zoo where they would be bringing some small animals in to teach the kids a little about them.

"It was so cool!" he yelled out. "They had a rabbit and a snake and a skunk!"

"A skunk?" I asked as sniffed near him dramatically. "So that's why you stink!"

He giggled at me. "He didn't stink, silly. They unstinked him."

I laughed at his made up word and listened to him ramble on about the animals—it seemed the highlight was the snake that had wrapped itself around his wrist, something that made me shudder at the thought—until Alice shooed me to my room to get ready.

The warm water of the shower beat against the muscles in my upper back and neck where the tension was centralized after spending so much time hunched over the speakerphone at my desk, and I made a mental note to take a couple Ibuprofen before I left to take the rest of the sting out. I didn't want to move out from under the spray, but I knew that I had little time to finish getting ready and so, reluctantly, I ended my shower.

Alice was waiting in my room, the expression on her face immediately making me nervous. I looked around and didn't see Max, then listened and couldn't hear him either. Alice seemed to know what I was doing.

"He's playing in his room," she said, answering my unspoken question.

I nodded and headed to the closet to pull out an outfit. Alice indicated her approval with a thumbs-up when I stepped out, and I laughed at her since I wasn't asking for her permission, simply holding the dress up so that the hem wouldn't drag on the floor.

"So, what's up?" I asked her, wanting to get this over with, whatever it was that she had in store for me.

She pulled a small gift bag from behind her back and handed it to me with a guilty expression. I looked at her warily before taking it from her.

I opened the bag and peeked inside, then immediately closed it back up as my head snapped up to Alice who was slightly cowering, anticipating my reaction.

"What the hell do you think is going to happen tonight?" I screeched, my heart pounding in my chest at the implications of this 'gift.'

She stood up and walked over, taking the bag from me and walking back to the bed as she mumbled, "I know what I think _should_ happen."

I chose to ignore her words, instead waiting for her to explain herself. I watched as she flipped the bag upside down and the box of condoms dumped into her hand. Without giving me a second look, she reached over and opened the drawer to my nightstand and dropped the box inside.

"I know, I know," she said, trying to assuage me before I could complain. "But I figure it'll happen eventually and knowing that you're already prepared might take some of the pressure off when you get to that point."

She knew me too well and I could understand her logic. I would either wonder if I was being presumptuous if I bought them before anything happened, or I would kill the mood by waiting until I was ready and found myself unprepared. It didn't make the presentation any less uncomfortable.

I was still baffled at the fact that she had to dress them up in a gift bag, complete with ribbon falling in curls from the handle. Only Alice.

I sighed my resignation and pulled the towel from my head, squeezing out as much water as I could before I walked back to the bathroom to brush through the tangles. She followed behind moments later and took over. In no time at all, she had my hair finished and left me alone in the bathroom to get dressed and do my make-up.

I stepped out of the bathroom to see Alice holding Max's hands while he jumped on my bed.

"Busted!" she yelled to him, and he instantly halted his jumping but couldn't stop giggling.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" I asked while playfully stalking over to the bed, my hands fisted at my hips.

"Nothing!" he insisted.

"That didn't look like 'nothing' to me." I reached out, tickling his sides until he fell onto the bed in a heap.

I stopped the attack after a minute, and Alice looked at her watch. "Okay, I guess we better get out of here."

I nodded and followed them downstairs. "Do you have everything?"

She picked up Max's overnight bag and looked around just to be certain that she hadn't forgotten anything. "I think so. Have fun tonight."

She pulled me into a hug, and I whispered my thanks to her. I stepped back from her and dropped down to Max's level, hugging him as well.

"Be good, okay? I love you."

"Love you, too," he said, pulling his head back enough to kiss my cheek.

I brought my hands up to push his hair back before wrapping him in one more hug. "I'll see you in the morning."

I watched as Alice led him out the door, then turned to start gathering my things to stuff into the small clutch that went with my dress. I heard a car pull into my driveway and was immediately assaulted by nerves. I moved to the window and pushed the curtain aside so that I could peek out. Edward was already out of the car, crouched down talking to Max and occasionally looking up to speak to Alice.

Though I couldn't hear anything that was being said, just the sight caused my heart to catch in my throat. It was entirely likely that I was getting ahead of myself, but I'd never dreamed that I would ever be lucky enough to find someone who accepted Max so fully. It was easy to tell when somebody was simply being polite, only tolerating interaction with a child. Edward never gave that vibe. He seemed to truly care about Max, treated him the same way everybody else in our group treated him, and always made sure Max knew that he was listening to his every word. He gave Max his undivided attention, and I couldn't help but fall for him a little more each time I witnessed it.

I stepped away from the window before I was caught spying and walked over to the bottom of the steps where I had left my shoes earlier. As I slipped the second one on, the doorbell rang and my breathing stopped momentarily. I took a couple moments to calm myself, unsure as to why I was so nervous now when I had been quite comfortable with him all week, and walked over to open the door.

If I had thought it was hard to breathe just moments ago, it was nothing compared to the effort it took now, seeing him as his frame filled the doorway. His eyes, a deeper green than I'd seen yet, hypnotized me. I couldn't look away; I was transfixed. I don't know how long we stood like that before I noticed one side of his mouth turn up into a grin. I immediately felt the heat rise to my cheeks, feeling shy for some reason, and breathed out, "Hi."

If this was any indicator, verbosity was not going to be my strong suit tonight.

His hand moved to my waist as he simultaneously leaned closer. Just before his lips touched mine, he whispered, "Hello, beautiful."

The kiss started off slowly, light pecks and brushes, before deepening. Our arms twisted around each other as it continued, pulling each other closer, holding tighter. As always, when his tongue slid against mine, my heart drummed in double-time.

He eventually pulled back with groan and rested his forehead to mine, never loosening the hold he had on me. "Okay, I have to stop or we're going to end up spending the evening making out on the couch like fifteen-year-olds."

"I wouldn't object," I teased.

He groaned again and straightened his posture, effectively separating us. His arms slid from around my waist and his hand moved to mine, grasping hold. He watched, almost in fascination, as his fingers slowly entwined with mine. His thumb passed lightly over the side of my hand a few times before his attention was drawn back up, gazing into my eyes with a great deal of intensity.

"Are you ready?"

I didn't know what it was about that moment, seemingly so simple, that left me speechless. I could only nod my assent.

Without breaking eye contact, he pulled our hands up to his mouth and kissed just below my thumb. I released a shaky breath, amazed that such an innocent spot could be so sexy, and he leaned forward, placing one small chaste kiss to my lips. I had no idea how I was able to find any awareness of our surroundings, but I somehow managed to pull myself together enough to pick up my clutch before we headed out the door.

We walked to his car where he opened the door, his hand not leaving mine until I was fully inside and he had no option but to let go so that he could close the door. I took a few calming breaths as he walked quickly around the front of the car and opened his door. As soon as he had backed out of my driveway and shifted from reverse into drive, his hand reached over, searching for mine. The trip was relatively quiet, we didn't speak much, but it wasn't an awkward silence. We were both seemingly too overwhelmed by just being together to do anything more than simply enjoy. We didn't need uninterrupted discussion; the meaningful glances, occasional tightening of intertwined fingers, and a few phrases shared in barely more than a whisper said more than enough.

We pulled into a parking lot, and my eyes lit up when I realized where we were. I hadn't thought to ask, or even wonder, where we would go, which was unusual for me. I was the type that had to know what was going on at all times; I had never been one for surprises.

I looked over to see a smile stretch across his face before contorting into something more… embarrassed?

One hand lifted up to the back of his head as he scratched absently. "Yeah, um, Alice may have called me with _advice_."

"That doesn't surprise me," I said with a laugh.

"She said this was one of your favorite places but you never get to come here since it isn't too kid-friendly. And I don't really know the city well enough yet to know which places are good…" He shrugged as he trailed off, clearly unsure as to whether he had made the right decision bringing me here.

"It's perfect," I told him honestly and with a smile to match. "I haven't been here in probably a year or more."

His features relaxed, and he leaned over to kiss me quickly before getting out of the car and coming around to my side to open the door.

We walked together toward the entrance, his arm around my waist. As we neared the door, an employee emerged to open it for us, and Edward guided me in ahead of him. He stepped forward once we were inside, giving his name to the hostess, and we moved to the side to wait. Moments later she motioned for us to follow her, and we trailed behind her through the dimly lit restaurant before stopping at a relatively secluded table in the corner.

The waitress arrived just as we were seated, introduced herself, and quickly headed off to get the bottle of wine that Edward ordered.

We opened our menus, conversation centering on what sounded good, until the waitress returned, pouring a small amount into one glass. I watched, strangely fascinated, as Edward swirled the red liquid around before sniffing then tasting and nodding his approval to the waitress. She added more to his glass before pouring mine. After taking orders for appetizers, she left us alone again. I looked up to see Edward watching me, eyes glimmering from the flicker of the candle in the middle of the table.

"Thank you," he whispered.

My brow furrowed. "For what?"

"For this," he said simply. "For letting me take you out."

I felt the blush rise. "Thank you for asking me. And…"

My words faded as I stopped myself from saying too much too fast, but he didn't want to ignore that I obviously had more to say. We were sitting at adjacent sides of a small, square table which allowed him to move in closer.

"And?" he asked gently, urging me to continue without pressuring me.

I took a breath and closed my eyes for a moment to steel myself before slowly opening them to look up at him. "Thank you for waiting for me; for being so patient."

He was silent at first; his only reaction was to stare even more intently. Just as the nerves were about to overtake me, he leaned just a little closer and, without blinking or breaking eye contact in any way, he whispered, "It wasn't even a choice. I would have waited for however long it took."

My breath caught and my hands flew to the sides of his face as the distance closed and our lips met. Aware of our surroundings, the kiss had to end too soon for either of our liking.

We existed in our own little bubble in that corner of the restaurant until the waitress brought out the appetizers. Edward had one of my hands between both of his, playing with my fingers, tangling his with mine at random, and only briefly looked up to the waitress—the minimum required to politely acknowledge her presence—as he ordered. I watched her as she watched him, completely flustered and occasionally tripping over her words. She wasn't acting inappropriately, but it was more than obvious that she was affected by him. I sympathized. I knew that feeling all too well, so there was no way I could fault her.

She walked away, and we broke apart so that we could enjoy our food. I happened to glance over at the waitress' retreating form and saw her fan herself with her notepad.

"What are you laughing about?" Edward asked, amused.

I shrugged, a little embarrassed since I hadn't realized I had actually laughed aloud. "You and your effect on women."

His confusion just made me laugh more. I leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "I think our waitress has a crush."

He turned to look in the direction I had been watching, but she was long gone. "Did she… she didn't do anything to make you uncomfortable, did she?"

I grinned, smiling at his reaction as he appeared to be running through the entire exchange trying to pinpoint a moment that could have been interpreted as improper. Thinking of how she had to cool herself off after leaving his presence, I said, "Nope. I'm pretty sure she was the one feeling uncomfortable."

He shook his head and laughed at me as I grinned and popped a bite of fresh mozzarella in my mouth.

We talked all the way through appetizers and entrees, stealing bites from each others' plates and finishing the bottle of wine. After a shared dessert, we noticed that the restaurant was steadily emptying and were both shocked that it was already eleven. We had been sitting there for over three hours and yet it barely felt like one hour had passed.

The waitress brought the bill out, and as Edward was distracted by signing the credit card receipt, she looked at me over his shoulder and mouthed, "_Lucky girl."_

I smiled and laughed, mouthing back, "_Thanks. I know."_

The drive home mirrored the drive to the restaurant: quiet but meaningful. I invited Edward inside, and we ended up curled together on the couch, just talking after opening another bottle of wine. He sat at an angle against the corner of the couch while I rested my back against his chest. I held one of his hands in mine, flipping it palm up so that I could trace the lines absently.

Although we had covered so much ground in the restaurant, sharing stories about our lives prior to meeting, the environment hadn't lent itself to weightier topics. The privacy of my home made us comfortable enough to delve into those subjects.

"So, why did you come here?" I asked as I continued tracing the lines on his palm.

I felt his lips in my hair. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I know the generic, 'professional' version of the story, looking for new opportunities and all that," I told him, referencing his initial discussions with Peter. "Chicago's a huge market; what made you want to leave?"

He shifted, trying to get more comfortable, and the arm wrapped around my waist tightened. "There was no job security. Everything was falling apart. The guy that corporate brought in to manage our group ran the place into the ground."

I listened as he talked about the market manager, the games that people had to play just to hang onto their jobs. It shocked me that there was so little oversight in such a large market. It was somewhat understandable how someone could get away with that in the smaller markets that were often overlooked and left to fend for themselves, but companies relied on the stations in major markets to define their brand.

"So, how did you manage to stay around and put up with that for so long?" I asked, truly wondering how he had been able to show up, day after day, even though he was completely miserable.

"I cut myself off from everybody. I went in, did my work, and went home. It was the only way I could tread water for as long as I did," he said matter-of-factly.

"What about your friends?"

He laughed darkly, no amusement to be found. "My friends."

I turned to see him better as he removed one arm from around me to rub his face before continuing. "They all turned on each other, playing James' game. I watched as they started turning each other in for various supposed infractions, trying to get each other fired. That was when I backed away, because I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody turned on me. I think I only managed to delay the inevitable. _Someone_ tried to set me up, and I was actually suspended for two weeks while James 'investigated' the claim that I was illegally accessing financial records and personnel files."

My eyes widened in shock, but before I could say anything, he continued. "I think he was hoping it would scare me into just quitting. He wanted me gone, but he couldn't just fire me. He had to find a damn good reason, which he didn't have, or he had to pressure me into leaving on my own. He couldn't risk alienating more clients than he already had, and since quite a few of our biggest clients happened to be good friends and acquaintances of my parents, he couldn't be quite as unscrupulous with me as he was with everyone else he wanted gone. He ended up having to admit they didn't have anything to back up the claims, making him look like an even bigger ass when I came back. For a while, I stuck around just out of spite. He didn't want me there but he couldn't get rid of me yet, so my plan was to show up every day and remind him that, at least for the time being, my job was secure and there was nothing he could do about it."

"So, who made it up and turned you in?" I didn't miss the emphasis he had put on the word 'someone' when he spoke, so I knew that he must have had some idea as to who had tried to get him fired.

He shifted uncomfortably and was silent for a while. I wasn't sure if he was going to answer at first, but he finally started speaking again. "I don't know for sure, but I'm almost positive that it was… the girl I was dating at the time."

I was stunned into silence. I wasn't sure how to respond. My heart ached for him and the betrayal he had experienced. "You're kidding!" I said, immediately realizing how stupid that phrase was.

"You see," he started before his words stalled as he tried to think of how to phrase the thoughts running through his head. "James didn't just surround himself with drinking buddies at the office. There were a handful of girls he was sleeping with as well. I found out she was one of them not long after my suspension. It had apparently been going on for months, but I had withdrawn so much and stopped going to the bars with coworkers that I wasn't around to see any of it. Last I heard, from one of the few honest people still there who emailed me a few weeks ago, she was promoted to my position after I left."

My hand moved up to his cheek and he leaned into it as I whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," he said with a slight grin as he kissed my temple. "That all happened… maybe six months before I moved here? I'm pretty much over it. And if all of that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have relocated for an even better job and I wouldn't be right here with you."

I twisted my head back further, looking him in the eye. Instinctively, he knew what I was looking for and leaned forward to press his lips to mine. Unable to hold my contorted position for too long, I had to break the kiss. I nuzzled backwards, getting even closer to him and felt him shift until his chin rested on my shoulder.

"Besides, it doesn't even compare to what you had to go through to get here," he said softly, almost apologetically.

"It's not a competition, Edward," I told him. "You have every right to resent what you've been put through."

We sat there until he broke the silence a few moments later. "Can I ask you something?"

The question scared me a little. The tone of the conversation gave me good reason to believe this wouldn't be an easy question. I wanted to be completely open with him though, so there was only one answer I could give him. "You can ask me anything."

"You said you were with Max's father for a year and a half, but you didn't have strong feelings for him," he started, and I nodded my head. "Why did you stay with him for so long?"

I hesitated as I tried to find the words. It was a fairly simple answer, but I hated the way it made me sound. I was a different person then—less sure of myself, timid, and relatively inexperienced in life.

My silence must have worried him because he quickly explained himself. "That came out wrong. It's just, from the little I know of him, you deserved so much more. I guess… I was just curious. I couldn't understand why someone like you would stay with someone like him when you could do so much better."

I twisted around and put my fingers to his lips to stop his rambling. "No, it's okay."

From this new position, I could curl into his side, so that's what I did. With my head resting on his shoulder, I brought one hand to his chest and absentmindedly played with the buttons on his shirt, feeling his arms tighten around me to hold me closer. I sighed as I felt his fingertips trail up and down my spine.

"When I moved, I was truly on my own for the first time in my life. Alice stayed here after we graduated; we had both gone to UW for Business but went separate ways after getting our degrees. She had always planned to open her own place, so she got her Business degree and _then_ went on to cosmetology school. I knew I wanted to do radio or live entertainment, so I applied to a job that was posted with the university from an alumnus who ran some stations and a couple venues on the east coast. My advisor had actually been his advisor and they still kept in touch, so the recommendation helped me land the job. I uprooted my entire life, left everything and everyone I knew behind, and moved to the other side of the country."

I looked up to see him listening intently, patient as always, so I continued. "I guess I sort of fell into the relationship. I turned him down at first, using the excuse that I was still trying to get moved in and get my new place set up, but eventually I realized that I needed to meet people and make friends or I'd be miserable and lonely. So I finally agreed to go out with him and we started hanging out more and more often. I honestly don't recall how or when we turned into an 'us' but I guess that's what happened. I didn't question it. It was easy, comfortable, and having people to hang out with outside of work distracted me from having left everyone I knew behind."

As I spoke, I began to draw parallels to Edward's time here in Seattle, but before I could wonder if he was going through the same thing and this was the relationship he'd just happened to fall into, he hooked a finger under my chin and tilted my head up to kiss me, effectively silencing my inner doubt. I knew—I _felt—_that this was something significantly more for the both of us, and the parallels were nothing more than coincidence.

When we broke apart, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.

"That was pretty much it—it was convenient," I said, embarrassed. "I let it drag on because I didn't know how to end something that I wasn't even sure how it had even started."

Silence again filled the room, and I was lost in the feel of his fingers trailing slowly up and down my spine. After a while, I yawned and felt his chest shake with a laugh.

"Sorry," I said tiredly. "Wine makes me sleepy."

He kissed the top of my head before he spoke. "I should let you get some sleep. It's…" he paused to look at his watch before the volume of his voice raised in surprise, "after two!"

I picked my head up and looked at him to see if he was serious. We looked at each other for a moment before we both broke into laughter at the idea that we had once again lost all track of time. He kissed me quickly before we both stood up and stretched. I walked him to the door where he stopped and turned to me.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, "for tonight."

"Anytime," I returned with a grin.

He chuckled lightly. "I'll hold you to that. Can I pick you up in the morning?"

I nodded and he continued. "Game starts at ten, right?"

I nodded again before telling him we needed to leave the house by nine-thirty.

His arms wrapped around me, and just before kissing me yet again, he mumbled, "I just can't seem to stop doing this."

"Good, because I don't want you to stop."

His lips lightly brushed back and forth over mine a few times before pressing more firmly. In no time, I felt his lips part and his tongue trace my mouth until I opened for him. The kiss grew deeper and deeper until we were both too breathless to continue.

I couldn't stop the grin from stretching across my face as a thought crossed my mind. With one finger, he traced my smile as his crooked one took over his features. "What's this for? What are you thinking?"

"I just—" I started as I struggled to put what I was feeling into words. "I was thinking about how natural this feels. I've never been so comfortable being this openly affectionate with someone so quickly. It's like we skipped over most of the awkward stage and jumped about ten steps from the start."

"Are you okay with that?" he asked, suddenly concerned that I would think it was moving too fast.

"Very much so," I told him with complete honesty. "It's weird, because I know that, logically, I normally would be concerned, but it feels too right to care about what I would normally do. Maybe this is my new normal."

He grinned at my admission before smashing his lips to mine one final time. We hesitantly pulled apart, knowing that we both needed to get some sleep if we wanted to be functional tomorrow. I watched as he walked to his car, not moving from the door until he had pulled out of my driveway and his taillights disappeared down the street.

I dragged myself to my room, unable to tear the smile from my face and mentally preparing myself for seeing him again in just seven short hours.


	16. Exclusive

**Thanks, as always, to my betas Beans827 and Shug!  
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EPOV

"So, let me get this straight," I said slowly. "You people live in Seattle and voluntarily go to a restaurant that rains inside?"

A semi-circle of faces stared back at me in confusion before glancing around at each other, clearly having never made the connection before, while fake thunder roared through the building. Five adults stood in the middle of an artificial jungle, completely stumped by my observation, while a sixth, significantly smaller body tugged at the hand holding his, ready to investigate.

"Umm, yes?" Bella answered, hesitantly.

I laughed. "Okay, just making sure I understood."

Bella opened her mouth to say something but was jerked roughly to the side by a particularly violent tug. She took a few stutter steps to try and regain her balance as Max growled, "Come on!"

She laughed at him and motioned with her free hand. "Lead the way, oh impatient one."

I laughed at their retreating forms as the group scattered.

"You don't mess with that kid when it comes to the Rainforest Café," Alice warned before flitting off into the store behind everyone else.

We had already given a name at the podium near the entrance and were told there was a fifteen to twenty minute wait. I couldn't help but be amused at the extent that little Max had everyone wrapped around his finger. During his game, Rosalie had mentioned wanting to go out to celebrate her promotion. Bella had politely excused herself, not wanting to spend two nights in a row away from Max when she already had so little time to spend with him between her work and his school. Rosalie insisted she didn't care where we went, as long as everyone was there. She ended up leaving the decision to Max. He had just run off of the field after yet another win and declared this monstrosity as his choice.

We had all gone back to Bella's house for the afternoon, before caravanning to the restaurant for dinner.

I wandered through the gift shop, and soon found Bella and Max at a bin of plastic lizards, dinosaurs, and other assorted creatures.

I could hear Bella deepen her voice as she 'walked' a dinosaur over to the one Max held, but I couldn't understand the words themselves. Max started laughing at her and admonished, "Dinosaurs don't talk, Mama."

"They don't?" she asked. "What do they do?"

A series of growls, roars, and screeches erupted from Max's mouth as he held his toy up in front of his face.

"Very scary," she said, wide-eyed.

Max noticed me and held up the dinosaur to show me. "Look what I found!"

"I see," I told him as he tossed the toy back into the bin and walked to explore the others. Giving up his search, he grabbed Bella's hand and tugged her behind him again.

"You'd think this was his first time here," she said over her shoulder as I followed behind them.

"How many times has he been?" I quickly caught up, stepping next to Bella and snaking an arm around her waist while she was blindly pulled through the store.

"We're here at least once every couple months. Sometimes more often," she said with a shrug, and I laughed.

"And he's still this excited?"

"Every time," she said with a sigh.

We walked past a tree and I jumped back, startled, when it opened its eyes and started talking. I could feel my lip curl, involuntarily, in disgust.

"That's really friggin' creepy." Nice. I was getting better at this whole watching my language thing.

"Very," Bella agreed, chuckling. "Have a few too many drinks at the bar in there and that could really screw with your head."

As we laughed, I felt a small hand slip into one of mine and pull.

"Come on," Max growled, annoyed. "I want to glow!"

I quirked an eyebrow in Bella's direction, and she rolled her eyes, trying to look annoyed, but I could tell by the partial grin she wore that she found it adorable. "Black light," she said as Max directed us behind a wall. Inside this small room were various shirts and toys that glowed under the light. Max stopped in the middle of the area and pulled the shirt away from his chest, looking down at it and checking out the effect. After a moment, he turned around and upon noticing that my shirt was also glowing, he started giggling and pointing.

"You think that's funny?" I growled as I reached down to tickle him. He squirmed and struggled, his cheeks turning pink from all of the laughing.

We were interrupted by Emmett's booming voice telling us our table was ready, so the three of us left the little alcove and headed back to the podium. The host handed us a small slip of paper with a table number and pointed to the various animal prints on the ground and instructed us to follow the gorilla tracks to the entrance of the dining room. I walked a few steps behind Bella and Max, watching them hop, hand in hand, from one footprint to the next.

"No, no, no!" Max yelled. "Gorilla, Mama. Not elephant!"

"Oh no!" she yelled, dramatically alarmed. "Do you think they're going to make me sit at a different table?"

"Yes," he whispered loudly, dead serious as he pulled at her hand to urge her back over to the gorilla tracks. "Hurry before they see you!"

I grinned at the exchange as we neared the point where we were to wait again. A hostess quickly met us and led us through the maze of tables.

"I found Nemo!" Jasper called out as we passed a tank full of orange and white striped fish, causing Max to burst into giggles.

"That's not Nemo," Max corrected him.

"How do you know?" Jasper retorted.

"Because," Max said with attitude, "Nemo lives in Disney World."

The rest of the group snickered as Jasper continued the argument. "I thought Nemo lived in Australia?"

Max shook his head, disappointed—perhaps even irritated—that he had to explain something he clearly believed to be common knowledge. "Not anymore. He's in Disney World now. We saw him. Right, Mama?"

"That's right," Bella said, trying to keep herself from laughing at the exchange.

The hostess stopped at a large table, overlooked by a family of gorillas. Bella helped Max climb up onto the cushioned booth seat and scooted in beside him.

"Look, Max," Emmett said as he pointed to the gorillas. "They sat us with your _real_ family again!"

I was stunned at first that Emmett would say something like that to a kid that young. I knew that some kids would take that to heart. It seemed a little mean, until I heard Max hand it right back.

"No, they're _your_ family," he said with attitude. "You smell just like them."

I looked at Bella who was shaking her head in disapproval, a small smile slipping through to destroy her façade. She looked up at me and what I was sure was my questioning look.

"It's the same conversation every single time," she said quietly with a shrug as Emmett and Max continued their banter, arguing over who was the smelliest. "Any second it'll morph into—"

Before she could finish her statement, Emmett started grunting like a gorilla and beating his chest. Max giggled and released a high pitched, "Ooh, ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh, ahh."

"Monkey sounds," Bella finished with a laugh.

The waitress stopped by the table, taking drink orders and leaving us to ourselves again. Rosalie jumped into conversation, detailing everything Peter had told her during the meeting about the promotion, interrupted only when the waitress returned to distribute our drinks and take our orders. Rosalie picked up where she left off, and once she finished, conversation transitioned to a conference we would all be attending mid-June.

I had only just found out about it the week prior; apparently it had completely slipped Peter's mind to mention it to me at any point since I had started, and Bella, Emmett and Jasper had a good laugh at my confusion when they started talking about it and I was completely lost, oblivious as to what was going on. The four of us, as well as a few others, would be flying to Vegas in a few weeks. Jasper, Emmett, and I would be attending seminars and presentations with the other PDs that centered on radio while Bella would head off to the ones that focused on live entertainment. Rosalie and Alice were tagging along for the hell of it.

"So, what are you doing with Max?" Alice asked Bella. "Figure that out yet?"

"Yeah," she said, taking a moment to swallow a bite of food. "Charlie's going to take a week's vacation and keep him while I'm gone."

"He'll have him out on the boat everyday," Alice commented.

"He already bought Max a new fishing pole," Bella said with a laugh.

"Grandpa said it's a blue one!" Max added proudly.

Before we knew it, it was after nine. Max had long since passed out, stretching out on the seat of the booth with his head resting on Bella's leg, one of her hands absently running through his hair. His exhaustion was so great that the fake thunderstorms that intermittently rang through the restaurant causing the family of gorillas behind us to become quite active didn't even cause a flutter of his eyelid. He was out. He didn't even move when we were finally ready to leave and Bella slid his body to the edge of the seat so that she could pick him up.

Her hands slipped from under his arms due to her laughter when she tried to lift him into a sitting position. She had only managed to raise him a couple inches before his body fell like dead weight back to the seat.

"Need some help there, Bella?" Jasper asked, amused. Alice was busy flipping open her phone to snap a picture of Max's prone form, flopped on the seat.

I moved in a bit closer and leaned down to pick him up. "Here, I'll get him."

I lifted him from the seat and shifted his body until his head dropped to my shoulder. We reversed our path from earlier and separated to three separate cars once we got to the parking lot. Bella and I talked quietly on the way back to her house, though I was sure that our normal voices wouldn't have fazed Max. As soon as we had made it to the road, I had reached for her hand. It seemed that I always had to be in contact with her now that I was allowed the luxury. The past few hours had been torture. I had tried to keep some amount of distance, knowing that she felt self-conscious with the four sets of eyes studying us intently for this first group outing since everything changed.

I carried Max into the house and to his room once we arrived, stepping out of the way but unable to stop watching Bella as she got him ready and repositioned him on the bed so that she could pull the covers up over him. I couldn't define what it was about watching her—seeing how good she was with him—that kept me so spellbound. I just unquestioningly accepted that it did.

As soon as she pulled the door shut behind her, leaving us standing alone in the hall, my hand instinctively reached to slip around the back of her neck to pull her closer. We had lost too much time today, and the result was a frenzied kiss, exaggerated by our mutual need.

She opened her mouth to me at the urging from my tongue at her bottom lip, that first touch of her tongue causing a now predictable jolt to shoot through my body, centering in my groin. The need to hold her closer always directly followed, my free arm wrapping around her to pull her against me.

A small whimper, muffled by our fused mouths, caused me to take the steps that led to her being pressed tightly against the wall behind her. Involuntarily, my hands shifted to lift her, her legs wrapping around my waist as I used my entire body to hold her even tighter against the wall. I groaned at the feel of her heat and reluctantly broke the kiss. It was too fast, I couldn't push her too far so quickly.

I buried my nose into her neck, listening as we both breathed heavily. She slowly released her legs and slid back to the floor, but I didn't step back to give her more room. I wanted to stay like that as long as she would allow.

I pulled my head back to look at her. Her eyes were closed, head rested back against the wall, and everything about her exuded serenity as I watched, wishing I could know what she was thinking. We were holding onto each other so tightly that I could feel her heart pounding in her chest, such a contrast to her calm expression.

She had a slight smile on her face, but when she finally opened her eyes she almost seemed guarded.

"We aren't going to be able to keep this quiet for very long," she whispered.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, hoping her answer would give me a hint as to what she was thinking. I watched as her gaze shifted around, her chin tipped down, and her teeth started working on her bottom lip as she thought.

"I think I need to talk to Peter," she said quietly, and I still couldn't determine her mood. "I mean, he won't care, but I don't want him finding out through office gossip."

"Understandable." I wanted her to look at me, elaborate, something or anything that would clue me in.

She chuckled humorlessly. "It just feels so ridiculously formal and…"

I waited for a moment to see if she would finish her thought, but it was quickly apparent that she wouldn't unless I urged her to continue. "And?"

"Official?" She sounded so unsure, and the delivery of that single word told me everything.

"Are you not okay with 'official?'" I asked, wanting to see her reaction, to hear her response. I recalled her words the night before, something about it feeling like we jumped a bunch of steps. If I was right—and I was pretty sure that I was—she was unsure as to where exactly we stood. She was afraid of us going public without knowing whether or not this all meant that we were exclusive. She had said last night that she was okay with how quickly we'd become so comfortable with each other, but once people found out, it would be difficult to explain it to others so that it made sense unless we were up front with each other.

"I am, I just—"

She was struggling to find words and I moved my hands to run up and down her arms in what I hoped was a comforting gesture. She took a few breaths, gathering her thoughts. "I don't want to say anything to anybody unless… until…"

She was getting frustrated with herself at being unable to verbalize her thoughts.

"Hey," I whispered as I tilted her chin up to force her to look at me. I waited for her eyes to connect before continuing. "I want this. _Just_ this. Just _you_. Okay? Don't doubt that. And, if you feel the same, I don't see any problem telling him as soon as you're comfortable talking to him about it."

"I do," she said with a relieved sigh. "Feel the same, I mean."

Her hands moved from my shoulders to my neck as I tightened my arms around her waist, each of us pulling the other closer until our lips crashed together.

We spent the rest of the evening discussing how to handle the inevitable talk around the station. The problem with the laid back atmosphere was the widespread love of new gossip. I grudgingly left that night, putting it off as long as I could, knowing I wouldn't see her again until Monday. As much as I wanted to spend every moment with her, I didn't want to start monopolizing all of her time when her weekends with Max were already so valuable to her.

We had agreed that she would talk to Peter on Monday, though we had no intentions of letting the rest of the staff know for a while to give ourselves time to just enjoy it before we were put under a microscope. She needed to make sure there was no chance that anyone else would get to him with their suspicions first. She wanted it to be on her terms and I completely agreed. We both had to maintain professionalism if we valued our careers. Thanks to double standards in the workplace, she had more to lose than I did when it came to professional reputations if we didn't follow certain protocols.

After discussing everything on Saturday night, I wasn't sure why I was so nervous all morning on Monday. She seemed fine while she was in the studio, so if she had been concerned about talking to Peter, she had been pretty damn good at hiding it.

I was sitting in my office, half-heartedly looking up songs to see which ones I wanted to add to the rotation, when the phone rang. It was the third time since Bella had walked into Peter's office about a half an hour ago, and each time, I was equally as startled. It had been driving me crazy; having nothing to do except wonder what was going on behind that door.

Peter's voice on the other end of the line gave nothing away when he asked me to come to his office. When I stepped through his door less than a minute later, his expression didn't give me any clues either. As if that wasn't bad enough, I looked over at Bella and, other than a quick smile, saw nothing that would be indicative as to what had happened.

I sat down in the chair next to hers, waiting for some sort of hint. She just sat there, heels propped on the edge of the seat and arms wrapped around her knees. She leaned forward and buried her face, effectively cutting off my ability to study her, to wait for her to give something away. My eyes slid over to Peter who was watching intently, his face still an unreadable mask.

I was suddenly really fucking nervous.

"It's about damn time!" Peter finally broke the silence with his outburst before he started laughing.

I heard Bella start laughing into her knees while I sat there, looking between the two of them, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

"Umm, what?"

"Did you think I was angry?" Peter asked, still laughing.

"Obviously," I said, somewhat petulantly.

"I told you I could convince him that I was pissed!" Peter slapped his knee a few time, and Bella shook her head. "You said I wouldn't be able to pull it off."

She turned her head to me, resting her temple on her knee. "Sorry. He was insistent. He enjoys screwing with peoples' heads."

I chuckled and shook my head. I wouldn't have been upset anyway, I could take a joke, but the relaxed smile on her face and that twinkle in her eyes as she looked at me made it worth it. I could tell that she was more relaxed now that the person whose professional opinion mattered most was not only in on the secret, but he seemed to enthusiastically approve.

"So, you guys have been in here all this time plotting my torture?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Peter answered simply. "That conversation lasted about a minute and a half. Not like I didn't know it was coming eventually. We've just been finalizing some plans in here."

I gave Bella an accusing look, teasingly of course. "So you just let me sit in my office and worry that things were going badly since it was taking so long?"

"Yep," she said, unapologetic and matched it with an impish smile as she uncoiled her arms from her legs and set her feet on the floor.

We chatted with Peter for a little while before he had to leave to head downstairs for the big sales meeting to announce Fred's retirement and Rosalie's promotion.

I followed Bella across the hall and into her office, shutting the door behind me and grabbing her waist to pull her back to me before she could get too far.

"Think that was funny?" I growled into her ear as she relaxed back against me.

"A little," she said with a sigh as I turned her around to face me, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and tugging her closer.

"I'll remember that."

Her hands were at my waist, clutching at the fabric of my shirt. I leaned down and just as our lips touched, a loud knock startled us, causing us to jump away from each other.

"Busted!" Emmett called through the door. I moved aside as Bella opened the door to glare at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"You do realize that you _never_ shut your door if you're here, right? Dead giveaway." His arms were crossed and the smirk on his face said he was quite proud of himself. He stepped into the room and looked at me. "Hey, I need your help on something."

I nodded and said goodbye to Bella as I stepped out into the hall. Emmett quickly brought me up to speed on a client that wanted to discuss some new spots that he wanted us to produce. After forty-five minutes on the phone, we realized that we were all having trouble getting our ideas across and decided to meet up for lunch to discuss the options face to face.

It was very early in the day, not even noon yet, so Emmett and I decided to see if the rest of the crew wanted us to bring anything back for them. Jasper was easy enough to find, still in the production room working on spots for a different client. Rosalie was out of her meeting and sitting at her desk when Emmett called down. Bella, however, was more difficult to find. Impossible, actually. She wasn't in her office when I tried to call, and she wasn't picking up her cell, so Emmett and I split up to try and track her down.

I found her a short while later at the table in the break room, talking to Angela. She was sitting sideways in one chair, with a second chair pulled out to prop her feet on. I walked over and picked up her feet so that I could sit down, but didn't take her lack of coordination into consideration. The action threw her off balance and her hands flew; one gripping the back of her chair, while the other splayed flat against the table. Before she could fall off of her chair, I reached over and grabbed her arm to keep her from tipping off of the side. Her eyes widened in fear before she started laughing.

"If you wanted to sit, you could've just asked. You didn't have to toss me to the floor!" Her laughter continued as I dropped her feet onto my thighs so that she could keep her comfortable position.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that you can't even sit without falling?" I teased her.

"This surprises you?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. "There's a reason my parents didn't name me Grace. And that was all you that time. My inability to stay upright had nothing to do with _that_, for once."

"Yeah, whatever it takes to make you feel better," I said, shaking my head then grinning at her. "Believe it or not, there was actually a purpose to my visit. Have you had lunch yet?" I wasn't sure, since she was sitting there while others were filtering in and out for their own lunch breaks.

"Nope, just came in to get something to drink and got sidetracked." I had already forgotten that Angela was sitting right there on the other side of the table watching us, biting the inside of her cheek trying to fight a knowing smile.

"Emmett and I have to run out to meet with a client and we were trying to track you down to see if you wanted us to bring something back."

Her lips twisted to one side and her nose scrunched in thought. "Maybe. Where are you headed?"

I named the restaurant, and she chewed her lip for a moment. "Okay, yeah. I just don't know what I want."

I chuckled at how intently she was pondering her options, as if the fate of the free world rested on her lunch order. I didn't realize that I was working my hand up and down her shin until I caught Angela's eye again. She just shook her head and looked away with a grin, never saying a word. I glanced around and the few people in the room weren't paying any attention to us. I didn't know Angela well, but I could tell she wasn't the type to involve herself in gossip, let alone start it, so I didn't bother to back off. We were okay for now so I was going to take advantage of the opportunity to be close to her since she didn't seem averse to the action.

"Ugh, I don't know. I guess just a burger or something. I don't care, just… whatever." Bella shrugged noncommittally.

"Just a burger? Wow, you're easy."

She leaned forward slightly and conspiratorially whispered, "Shh, don't let that get out. You'll ruin my reputation."

It took me a second to catch on to what had just happened, but Angela picked up on it immediately, bursting into hysterical laughter that caused everyone in the room to look at her.

"Oh shit!" I yelled, when I realized what I had implied. "I didn't… that's not… I meant…"

Bella was trying not to laugh, but her eyes were full of amusement as she watched me flounder over my apology. Angela was now doubled over, sitting sideways in her chair, holding her stomach. "Oh God! That was… that was classic!"

What the fuck was wrong with my filter? What was it about this girl that constantly had me saying the wrong things? Thank God she had a sense of humor. "That wasn't what I meant, I swear."

"I know," Bella said, rolling her eyes and finally giving into the laughter. "It's just too much fun tormenting you."

Her attention diverted back over to Angela who was having trouble catching her breath. The harder she laughed, the more Bella and—once the mortification had passed—I laughed.

"There you are," Emmett's voice boomed from the doorway. "What the hell is going on in here?"

Bella and I both turned out heads to see Emmett giving Angela an odd look. Bella turned back around and reached over for the half empty bottle of water sitting in front of Angela. She pulled it close to her nose and sniffed. "Well, I don't _smell_ the Vodka. She must be hiding it at her desk."

"You missed it!" Angela said to Emmett, her laughter increasing her volume a few decibels. "He said… and then she said…"

Emmett looked at me with brow furrowed and widened eyes as if to say, "What the fuck?" and I just shrugged, not wanting to relive my slip.

Angela eventually stopped laughing, sitting straighter and taking a few calming breaths. She sighed before she started complaining that her cheeks and ribs now hurt.

I went to lift Bella's legs from my lap so I could leave. "I'm standing up now… don't fall."

She shifted a foot to kick me lightly for my teasing. I turned to Angela, who was still fighting the occasional chuckle. "Want us to pick you up anything?"

"No, I'm good," she said, waving me off. "Thanks, though."

Emmett and I had just passed through the door when I heard Angela sigh and tell Bella, "It's never boring around here."

I had to agree.


	17. Leaps of Faith

**Thanks to Shug for beta'ing this in record time.  
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BPOV

"Are you crying?"

I sniffled, not wanting to answer him, so I shook my head.

"Yes, you are! You're crying!" He seemed amused by this observation; _too_ amused for my liking.

I sniffled again. "No, I'm not."

I not-so-discreetly wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand.

"She always cries at this part," Max, the little traitor, announced from his comfortable position on the couch, sprawled out with his head on my lap and feet on Edward's, never taking his eyes away from the television.

"Oh, really?" Edward asked with a raised eyebrow.

"But he finally has a family!" I whined, my pitch rising significantly higher than I had intended, finally breaking my unconvincing façade and as I pointed to the TV screen.

Edward had come over after I got home from work—just like he had nearly every night for the past couple weeks—and after the three of us had devoured nearly an entire pizza, Max had picked out _Meet the Robinsons_ to watch before bed. Part of me wondered if the devious little punk did it on purpose. I didn't cry when Old Yeller was shot. Not a tear was shed when Bambi's mother died. For some inexplicable reason, the second that Lewis recognized everybody at the science fair as his future family, I lost it. Every single time.

I gave up all pretenses and let the tears flow as Edward threw his head back in laughter. His reaction caused me to chuckle, and although the tears slowed, they didn't fully stop. As the scene continued, I felt the increasing need to defend myself.

"Look," I argued as I pointed to the screen again, trying to direct his attention. "It's his future home! And see? He's already starting to build Carl the robot! It's... it's just so sweet, and... happy!"

Edward just laughed harder, and I realized my explanation was doing little to prove my sanity, so I decided to shut my mouth and watch the last minutes of the movie.

With one last swipe under my eyes, I shuffled Max off of my lap and reached for the remote to turn the DVD player off.

"Hey look!" Edward called out when the TV automatically reverted back to the channel it had been on before we started the movie. "It's SquareBob SpongePants!"

Max scrambled into a sitting position, braced for a debate. "No, no, no. It's SpongeBob SquarePants."

"That's what I said," Edward responded, brow furrowed as he turned his attention to Max, playing dumb. "SquareBob SpongePants."

"No, it's _Sponge_Bob _Square_Pants," Max whined.

I started gathering the empty plates and used napkins as I watched the exchange, highly amused. Max was growing more and more frustrated, and Edward scratched his head in confusion. "Well, what did_ I _say?"

Max sighed in irritation. "You said 'SquareBob SpongePants' and his name is SpongeBob SquarePants."

"You lost me," Edward said with a huff, throwing his hands in the air before slapping them down on his thighs. "That sounds exactly the same."

I started taking things into the kitchen as the two continued their argument. I smiled to myself as I tossed the napkins into the trash and laid the plates in the sink. I was still amazed at how natural everything felt and by the comfort I had at the way this relationship was progressing. Not for the first time, I wondered why I had dug my heels in so vehemently in the beginning, refusing to—or, at least, attempting to refuse to—acknowledge how wonderful things could be if I let go.

I heard footsteps nearing and turned to see Edward carrying the nearly empty pizza box. He left it on the island and slowly closed the distance between us, crooked grin never wavering from his face. Stopping in front of me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled his nose into my neck, the feel of his lips against my skin immediately causing my heart to flutter. My hands slid up to his shoulders and around his neck as I inhaled deeply through my nose, taking in the mix of cologne, soap, and _him_.

"Finished torturing my child?" I asked lightheartedly.

He grinned as he brought his head up to look at me, eyes dancing with mirth as he answered simply, "For now."

Before I could laugh, he pressed his lips to mine, lingering for only a few seconds before pulling back to look in my eyes again. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, radiating contentment in the moment.

"Bet when you decided to move here you never expected to spend your evenings not only watching cartoons, but debating them, as well, huh?"

"Can't say that I did," he said, pausing to lean forward and kiss me again. "But I wouldn't change a thing."

His eyes were fixed on mine for what seemed like an eternity before I tipped my head backwards minutely, a silent invitation for him to kiss me yet again. He didn't pull away immediately like he had before, allowing this one to linger and deepen. I tilted my head to the side slightly and tightened my arms around his neck. Our tongues tangled as his grip around my waist constricted, pulling me to my toes until I couldn't stretch any farther. I didn't see an end in sight to this kiss, until...

"Eww."

We quickly jumped apart, Edward laughing and me floating somewhere between joining his laughter and being completely mortified. We had been very careful around Max, never _too_ affectionate. It was something I wanted to ease him into, and it looked like we just eased right on into the next phase.

"Eww?" Edward repeated, his tone dripping in offense, as he turned to Max, who was standing in the doorway, nose crinkled adorably in disgust. "What do you mean, eww?"

Edward stalked closer to Max, menacingly, and Max squealed with laughter as he took off running across the kitchen to avoid Edward. He rounded the island, peeking around the side to check Edward's progress. I laughed as I watched Edward stomp closer and closer, both hands held up in front with his fingers splayed to mimic claws, ready for an attack.

Realizing that the island wouldn't act as a proper barrier, Max attempted to run in a wide arc to get around Edward and back toward the living room, but he wasn't fast enough. Edward reached one arm out, essentially clothes-lining Max at the waist, and scooped him up, somehow flipping him upside down in the process so that Max's feet were dangling over Edward's right shoulder and his belly was wide open for tickling, which was apparently Edward's intention.

"Where do you think you're going, huh?" Edward growled as he continued his one-handed attack on Max's sides. Max kicked and flailed, struggling to free himself.

"Help!" he called out between fits of laughter. "Mama, help me!"

"You rat me out about crying and _now_ you want my help?" I asked him as I stepped closer. As soon as I was within reach, I joined in the tickling, one hand at each of his sides. Edward shifted Max back up since he had slid down a couple inches in his struggle then continued his attack. He deftly dodged a stray kick, the product of Max's struggle, but didn't relent.

It wasn't until Max started hiccupping from all of the laughter that we both eased up. I stepped back as Edward leaned forward, just enough to flip Max over so that he landed on his feet. He stood there for a moment, continuing to hiccup but otherwise silent, before announcing loudly and without an ounce of shame, "I have to pee."

Edward and I started cracking up, and I looked over at him. "See what you did?"

Edward held his hands in front of himself in surrender. "I'm just glad he figured that out now instead of thirty seconds ago."

He shuddered dramatically, and I laughed as I led Max to the bathroom. I coaxed him into his pajamas since it was close to bedtime and agreed to let him stay up for another half hour. He was passed out on the couch in under twenty.

Edward reached out for him, presumably to take him upstairs for me, when his cell phone rang.

"I've got him," I told him as I slid my hands underneath Max so that I could lift him. "You go ahead and get that."

He nodded as he pulled his phone out. "Hi, Mom."

Edward's voice quickly faded as I trudged my way up the stairs. I pushed Max's bedroom door open with my foot and shifted his weight slightly so that I could free one hand to pull his blankets down. Laying him down, I pulled the blankets back up and sat on the edge of the bed, pushing the hair back off of his forehead, watching as he slept.

He had always been a happy kid, but I couldn't deny that there was something extra there since Edward had been coming around. Though we had always spent a good amount of time with the group, it had been primarily just me and Max. What had always been good had recently been made better. It was as if every smile, every laugh, and even just every moment of quiet contentment had been amplified.

I couldn't deny that the occasional negative thought would pop up, always when I was alone and had too much time to think, but I quickly quashed it. Sure, there was always a chance that everything could blow up in my face, but it wasn't worth risking something that had the potential to be the best thing to happen to me and Max. Dwelling on the negative would do nothing but help assure that I would somehow sabotage this, and I wasn't about to let that happen.

After leaning over to kiss Max on the forehead, I quietly slipped out of his room and headed back downstairs. As I neared the bottom of the steps, I could see that Edward was already off of the phone. He was leaning forward and looking down; it wasn't until I neared the couch that I saw that he had been watching his phone as he flipped it over in his hand.

He looked up when he finally heard my approach and smiled, reaching out for my hand.

"Hey," he said quietly as he pulled me closer to him and tugged me to sit down. He shifted his body simultaneously so that I could sit between his legs, my back against his chest.

"Everything okay?" I asked, turning my head so that I could see his face.

"Mmhmm," he hummed as he leaned forward to meet my lips. I was having trouble reading his mood; melancholy, content, tired? I couldn't tell and there was a pretty wide range of possibilities that his expression could have matched.

We sat in the quiet for some time as I debated with myself whether or not to press forward to try to find out if something was wrong. Before I could come to a decision, he broke the silence.

"Do you have plans for the Fourth of July?" he asked.

Out of all of the things that my imagination had come up with in that short span of time, a holiday that was more than a month away wasn't one of them.

"No," I said hesitantly, unsure of where this was leading. "We usually all get together and cook out then go see fireworks, but it's never anything major and we haven't made any definitive plans for this year, yet."

He didn't respond right away, and when I started to turn to look at him, he dropped his chin to my shoulder and tightened his arms around my waist so that I couldn't move.

"My parents go all out, every year," he said before pausing. "They have a big barbecue in the backyard for close friends and family—not a ton of people, maybe twenty or thirty."

My brow furrowed as I listened, trying to figure out where this was leading. There was a hesitance to his words, as if choosing them carefully. Was he nervous? If so, of what? Me? My reaction to whatever the point of this was?

"Anyway, I know that this is very new," he said, squeezing me around the waist to indicate that by 'this' he meant us, then continued, "but they know how important you and Max are to me already and would like for the three of us to come."

I didn't respond right away, too stunned by the idea that he already felt so strongly, that his parents _knew_ he felt so strongly, and that they wanted us to fly halfway across the country to meet.

"You don't have to. It's just my mom... she... I promised I'd at least ask. You don't have to feel oblig—"

He was rambling, clearly worried about my reaction, and I snapped out of my daze. "I—I think that sounds nice."

_That sounds nice?_ That was the best I could come up with? What the hell was wrong with me?

"How long? I need to look at the calendar at work to see what days I can take off."

Now it was my turn to ramble, but he interrupted me. "You don't have to agree. No pressure. I know it's soon."

"Hey," I said softly, turned to rest my forehead against his temple since his chin was still propped on my shoulder. "I want to. I mean, unless you don't—"

He cut me off by quickly turning his head to kiss me. "I do want to. I'd love nothing more than to take you two to meet my parents. I just don't want you to feel obligated if you aren't ready."

"I'm fine," I said as I kissed his cheek to ease his concern. "Can't say I'm not a little nervous, but I want to go."

"Don't be nervous—they'll love you," he said. He chuckled lightly then added, "Mom already loves you."

I looked at him, my expression most likely a mix of surprise and panic. His own look was more sheepish than anything else. "I may have talked about you and Max with her quite a bit. I'm pretty sure she feels like she already knows you."

After that, we both relaxed as he told me more about his parents and some of the people we were likely to see there. I wasn't sure if the fact that the trip was more than a month away was good or bad. On one hand, I had plenty of time to prepare myself for this meeting, but on the other, I had way too much time for my nerves to build up.

Edward lifted his arm to look at his watch, letting out a groan as he rubbed his face. "I should get going."

He sounded reluctant, and I couldn't help but feel the same. "Stay." The word slipped out before I had a chance to process that the thought had even crossed my mind.

"What?" he asked, surprised.

I took a moment to steel my resolve; though the word had unthinkingly slipped, I realized I meant it. "Stay. Don't go."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Completely sure."

Quietly, he loosened his arms from around me and helped me to stand. From the beginning, he had been the one to read my cues and make the moves to progress this relationship, and I knew that I needed to make an effort to prove that I wasn't just along for the ride. I laced my fingers with his and led him to the stairs and up to my room. I wasn't yet ready to be fully intimate, but I was ready to move one step closer—to share my bed.

In my room, I walked over and pulled the blankets down before sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching for the alarm clock. Being a weeknight, he would have to be at work early to be on-air by six and would therefore have to leave extremely early. As an afterthought, I realized that he would be out of the house long before Max woke up. It was a perfect solution; we could take this next step and give ourselves time to adjust before Max became aware of it, and without the guilt over feeling like I was kicking him out of my bed or that he was leaving me alone to sneak out.

"What time do you need up?"

His hand rubbed over his face as he thought for a moment before answering, sounding somewhat unsure as he answered, "Four-thirty?"

I set the alarm and placed it back on the nightstand before standing up and walking over to my dresser. I pulled out some pajamas and half-heartedly waved them in front of me. "I'll, uh, just be right back."

My heart was thundering in my chest while my stomach was attacked by butterflies, and just before I closed the bathroom door I saw him pull his shirt over his head, the muscles in his back flexing and contorting with the action. I leaned back against the door taking deep breaths until I had calmed down enough to step away from the additional support that the door had provided.

By the time I had dressed and headed back into the bedroom, he was already in bed but was sitting up. He smiled, but a hint of nervousness seeped through, and it immediately put me at ease to know that he was affected in the same way. I didn't feel quite so ridiculous knowing that he was nervous, too.

I quickly walked to the other side of the bed and slipped in as he slid to lie down and pulled me close. With one arm under me and curling around my shoulders, he pulled me so that my head rested on his bare chest. I draped an arm over his stomach and snuggled in closer, getting comfortable pressed against his warm skin. His fingers trailed lightly from my shoulder, down my arm, and back again, and I felt his lips in my hair as he kissed the top of my head. I lifted my head to look up at him, and after a few seconds of a shared gaze, he brought his mouth down to mine. This kiss—a nonverbal acknowledgement of how much this new step meant to the both of us—deepened quickly. He pulled away, but only to pepper smaller kisses at the corners of my mouth, my cheeks, temple—anywhere he could reach.

We didn't say anything to each other, aside from a whispered "good night" as we held tighter before falling asleep.

The shrill tone of the alarm sounded entirely way too soon. I chuckled when I tried to roll away to turn the damned thing off and Edward tightened his grip so that I couldn't.

"You're going to have to let go," I told him.

"Huh uh," he mumbled and tightened his hold even more.

"The alarm won't turn itself off," I said, the steady beep growing more irritating by the second.

His grip loosened slowly. "Come right back."

I laughed lightly, oddly comforted by the fact that he, too, was not a morning person, as I rolled away to turn the clock off. As promised, I immediately returned to my original position, tucked into his side and head rested on his chest.

Neither of us said a word for the longest time, both hovering somewhere between sleep and consciousness. His breathing eventually changed, and he shifted, as if trying to will himself to move.

"I don't know how you do this five days a week," I mumbled sleepily.

"It's not so bad once you get used to the routine," he said as he brought his hand up to his face to rub at his eyes to coax them awake. "You just have to find the motivation to haul yourself out of bed."

He peeked down at me with one eye, still rubbing at the other with the heel of his hand. When he finally stopped, he brought that arm down to hug me tighter to him. "And I think that this morning is the least motivated I've ever been."

I grinned and buried my face against his chest, trying to hide the flush of red that was surely taking over my cheeks. He chuckled, the sound vibrating against me, as he kissed the top of my head.

Surprisingly, I was able to fall back asleep after he left. I couldn't remember much about the process of getting ready, dropping Max off at pre-school, and driving to work. That probably wasn't a good thing. But something about Edward kept my head planted firmly in the clouds, only barely conscious of the real world around me.

Distracted as I was, even I couldn't miss the look on Angela's face when I stepped off of the elevator. It took me a moment to realize who she was speaking to, and I grinned at myself, seeing an opportunity.

"Hey, Angela," I said, greeting her first before turning to the person next to me. "Hey, Ben. I didn't expect to see you here."

They both jumped, completely unaware of the fact that I had walked up. Ben ran a hand nervously through his hair before composing himself. "Hey, yeah, sorry. I needed to run and pick up a few things for the renovation and thought I'd stop by and have you approve this order. We found a little bit of plumbing in the theater that needs to be replaced—just a few pipes—but I need you to sign off on it before we can move forward."

He shuffled through the papers in his hand and handed them over to me, pointing out the quote for the labor. I looked over it, noting that the price was more than reasonable, and quickly scribbled my signature at the bottom.

"I'll just go and make a copy of this for my files now so that you don't have to worry about getting it to me later," I told him, really just wanting to give them a few more minutes with each other.

I took my time in the copy room, wasting a couple minutes mindlessly aligning reams of paper into perfect rows and columns instead of returning immediately after the few seconds it actually took to make the copy. When I made my way back to the reception area, they once again stopped talking.

I handed the original order over to Ben, who folded the paper into thirds and nervously fidgeted with the creases, pinching them tighter and tighter. "Thanks, I'll just... go and pick up what I need to pick up... I'll, uh, call the plumber and see how soon he can come out."

"Sounds good," I said, trying to fight a laugh. "Hey, I was planning on stopping by to check out the progress. What day is good for you?"

"Well, tomorrow we're expecting a big shipment of supplies so it'll be a little hectic," he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Day after should be good."

"Okay, that works for me. I'll be by around nine?" I said, making sure that the time was good for him and I wouldn't be pulling him away from something more important.

He nodded to let me know that time worked for him and quickly said his goodbyes. As soon as the elevator doors closed behind him, I turned to look at Angela, who was flushed a bright red that rivaled my typical blush.

"So?" I urged.

"What?" she asked warily.

"Oh, come on! What was that?" I asked, tilting my head in the direction Ben had just disappeared.

"Yeah, you're one to talk," she retorted.

"Huh?" I mentally recounted my entire exchange with Ben, trying to figure out what she was talking about, but when I looked up at her to see her arch a knowing eyebrow at me and then roll her eyes, I knew she wasn't talking about Ben. "Oh. OH!"

"Yeah," she said, laughing. "Oh."

It was my turn to blush, as I bit my lip trying to figure out whether I should try to deny, deflect attention back to her, or find out exactly what she knew. The third option won out—I needed to know what people knew, or thought they knew.

"You know?" I asked hesitantly.

She sighed, grinning at my sheepish response. "You two practically gravitate to each other when you're in the same room, and don't think I haven't noticed how often you leave for lunch within minutes of each other and then _return_ within minutes of each other."

My eyes widened in shock that she had picked up on that. We had been heading to his place for lunch a few days a week so that we could have a little privacy, but staggered our exits and returns so that it wouldn't be so obvious. Apparently, we had massively failed.

"Don't worry, I don't think anyone else noticed," she said reassuringly. "I just have the added luxury of sitting here and seeing who leaves when and with whom."

I relaxed, pretending to wipe sweat from my brow and laughed. "It's not going to be a secret forever," I told her. "It's just..."

"Don't worry," she interrupted when I trailed off. "I understand. This place can be like high school with all the gossip. I don't blame you. But—and I hate to be one of _those_ people—but you probably shouldn't put it off much longer. Some people are already starting to talk."

I nodded, unsurprised by this bit of information. I knew I needed to get used to the idea of everyone knowing soon. I just wanted time to enjoy this without the scrutiny, but it was starting to ride that line where the secrecy would only add stress. And I didn't want anyone to misconstrue anything, to think that I was embarrassed—that couldn't have been farther from the truth.

"Well, hey," I started, wanting to change directions again. "You wanna come with me when I go check out the theater?"

By her expression, I'd caught her off-guard with my offer. "Oh, I uh, don't know. I have to be here—I have my own job to do."

"Come on," I told her with a grin. "I have to do a little running and could use the help?"

I had presented the offer as a question, giving her the illusion of a choice. I was going to make sure she came with me. I had never considered myself the matchmaker type, but something about being happy made me want to make sure everyone else was happy too.

"I really don't know," she said, struggling with the decision. "Don't you think that's a little... obvious? Desperate?"

"Trust me, that'll be the last thing on his mind," I assured her as I waited for her to crack. "And you've been wanting to see the progress anyway," I pressed.

She sighed as she continued to think. "I really shouldn't. I can't just _not_ be here to get the phones."

"That's why we have people trained to cover switchboard," I insisted.

"People are cross-trained so that I can leave to go flirt with a guy on company time?" she asked, laughing.

"Eh," I said with a shrug. "No one needs to know the real reason you're tagging along with me."

She was quiet for a moment, contemplative, before releasing a large sigh and loudly announcing, "Okay! I'll go with you."

"Great!" I said with a grin. "I'll swing by and pick you up before I head over there. I'll call up when I'm close so that you can meet me out front, sound okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said as she began waving me off. "Sounds good. Now get out of here before I change my mind."

I laughed loudly at her as I walked away. I hadn't noticed the time, but as soon as I neared the studio and saw Edward, Emmett, and Jasper leaving, I realized I had been standing at Angela's desk for over an hour. Edward looked concerned at first, and I realized he had probably worried when I didn't show up. His features softened when he realized I was fine and slowed his pace so I could catch up.

I fell into step beside him, fighting the urge to grab his hand or wrap my arms around him since there were so many people in the halls.

"You okay?" he asked quietly. "I thought maybe you overslept this morning. I was just going to call to make sure you woke up."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered. "I just got held up talking to Angela and lost track of time."

He nodded, obvious relief on his face. I remembered what Angela and I had discussed and wanted to talk to him about it. "Hey, can we talk sometime this afternoon?"

Concern returned to his features. "Yeah, of course. Lunch at my place again?"

A laugh escaped before I could control it, thinking back to Angela's observations, and after quickly noting that nobody was paying attention, I reached up to run my thumb over the lines in his furrowed brow. "Don't worry. It's nothing bad."

His expression relaxed once again as he left me at my office. By the time lunch rolled around, I was back at Angela's desk. She was constantly asking for busy work to help her pass the time between phone calls, so I had taken a stack of flyers that needed to be cut since they were currently two to a page.

Edward walked past us, saying a quick hello on his way to the elevator when Angela spoke up. "Heading out for lunch again?"

I burst into laughter, only to laugh harder at the look on Edward's face and his evident confusion over my reaction. "Evil," I told Angela. "You're completely evil."

She smiled with pride at herself before telling me just to go. I stepped onto the elevator just before the doors closed. Edward looked at me curiously before leaning down and whispering, "What is wrong with you today?"

I pressed my lips together to stifle the laugh and shook my head as I stared at the decreasing numbers as the elevator descended. "I'll tell you in a minute."

We stopped at a deli halfway between the office and his apartment building, and the moment we stepped in his door, he turned to me. "Okay, what's going on? I feel like I'm missing out on the punch line of a joke."

"Angela figured out our lunch routine," I said as I started laughing again.

"What? How?" he asked, a laugh slowly creeping into his voice.

"I guess she's more perceptive than we gave her credit for," I said with a shrug. "She called me out on it this morning, one of the reasons I didn't make it into the studio."

He threw his head back in laughter. "Thank God. I was so worried that you were late because of me and felt so guilty. I couldn't remember if you re-set your alarm, and I was ready to get in my car to check up on you."

"Nope, just girl talk," I said as we walked over to his couch and pulled the sandwiches out of the bag. I unwrapped mine and started picking at the cheese that peeked out around the edges of the bread.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked, trying to move the conversation along. I felt terrible; even though I had told him that it wasn't anything to worry about I was sure he probably had been concerned all morning.

"Well, aside from the lunch thing and the fact that Angela and Ben—the foreman from the theater job—seem to have a thing for each other—" I started and he interrupted.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," I said with a nod.

"Huh, good for them."

I chuckled lightly before continuing. "Anyway, she kind of gave me a heads up that people are starting to talk about this." I motioned between the two of us, and he remained quiet so I continued. "Anyway, I was trying to think of a way to let people know without making a big production out of it. I know some people are going to talk regardless, but I don't really want to fuel that fire by making it sound like some big, formal announcement. Does that make sense?"

He scooted closer and took the sandwich from my hand, placing it on the coffee table, and pulled me into his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as I cuddled in closer to him, accepting all of the affection he was willing to offer.

"Makes perfect sense," he said. "How about, we don't _tell_ anyone."

I moved my head back so that I could look up at him. My brow furrowed in confusion. I wasn't expecting that as a response and couldn't figure out what he meant. "Don't tell anyone? What do you—"

He cut me off before I could continue. "I don't mean continue to keep it a secret. I mean, we don't _tell_ anyone. We just let them see what we are and they can figure it out on their own. If they ask, we'll them that, yes, we're together. But we won't actively _tell_ people."

"That's so…" I started as I tried to think of how to describe this plan. "Obvious." We both started laughing before I continued. "Why was I so worried about it? That makes perfect sense."

"Well, thanks," he said, feigning offense at my surprise. "I've been known to come up with one or two good ideas."

I chuckled as I rested my head on his chest, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted. Edward's arms wrapped tighter around me before he spoke again. "So, when do you want to stop hiding?"

"Soon," I said without hesitation. "Definitely before Vegas since it won't just be our little group on that trip. I don't want to hide there, and I want the novelty to wear off before then."

"That doesn't give us much time," he said. "This afternoon?"

My breath caught, assaulted by nerves at giving up of our privacy so soon, but there really was no point in delaying it. I answered resolutely, "This afternoon."

We eventually moved away from each other and finished our lunch. For the first time, we left his apartment together rather than separately. As soon as we stepped out onto the sidewalk, he reached for my hand and entwined our fingers. Though we still had a little ways to go before we got back to the office, he lived close enough and near quite a few restaurants that there was always a chance of running into a coworker.

My heartbeat sped up as soon as the office building was in view, and I couldn't help but look around to see if there were any familiar faces. His hand tightened around mine, and I looked up to see him give me a reassuring smile before pulling our hands to his mouth so that he could kiss that spot below my thumb like he had the night of our first date, and many times since. I immediately released a breath and resolved myself to stop looking around to see who, if anybody, noticed us.

We walked through the front doors and stepped onto the elevator without letting go of each other. Angela looked up and grinned widely as soon as the doors opened and we stepped off together. I could hear the whispers and feel the eyes on us, but refused to acknowledge them. Edward tugged my hand to pull me closer to his side, and I rested my head on his arm as we walked.

We stopped outside my door, and he turned me to face him. I finally let myself look and noticed a few curious glances before he hooked a finger under my chin to force me to look at him instead.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked with a small smile.

I shook my head, unable to verbalize. I was still a mess of nerves, but I was already feeling the relief of not having to hide.

"It's out there now," he said, studying me for my reaction. "No turning back."

"Good," I said with certainty before he leaned down with a huge grin and kissed me softly before heading to his own office.


	18. Unexpected

**Thank you Beans827 and Shug for their wonderful beta work. There's a scene in this chapter, probably one of my favorites (if not THE favorite) that is a product of one of Shug's suggestions when I was trying to figure out how one would go about explaining relationships to a toddler. It's the bath time scene, when you get there. As soon as she threw the idea out there, the whole thing played out in my head as you'll see it, so credit goes to her!**

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BPOV

"Pass the cookie dough."

Alice tossed the open roll of refrigerated Nestle Tollhouse cookie dough to the other end of the coffee table where Rosalie promptly dug her spoon in and shoveled it into her mouth.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I mumbled as I rubbed my stomach in a useless attempt to will the nausea away.

"Well, get over it," Alice ordered. "We're just getting started."

It was Saturday afternoon and Rosalie and Alice had dropped by for a "girls' day in" while the guys, including Max, were at a baseball game. Initially, it had sounded like a good idea, reverting back to those high school and college days sitting around all day with friends, eating junk food, and watching movies. The problem, though, was that once you grew up and junk food stopped being a primary means of sustenance, the stomach just couldn't tolerate it as well as it once could. I was thankful that we weren't going all out and adding a night of drinking to the mix. I began to wonder how I had survived college with Alice as a roommate, who always wanted to replicate this every weekend.

I pushed away from the coffee table and climbed up on the couch, sprawling out to watch the end of the movie and wondering if one actually had to be diabetic to fall into a diabetic coma. I cursed the person who claimed that sugar was supposed to wake people up. Damn liar.

After finishing _Sixteen Candles_ and then jumping into _The Breakfast Club_—apparently this "girls' day in" doubled as a Brat Pack movie marathon—I started to feel somewhat human again and decided I was ready for real food. And by 'real food,' I meant junk food disguised as real food since sugar wasn't the primary ingredient.

I pulled a jar of marinara out of the fridge after my trek into the kitchen, dumping the contents into three small bowls and nuking them in the microwave. As soon as they were done, I tossed a few pepperoni rolls that we'd made at the start of our day in to warm up. I balanced everything as best I could and headed back out to the living room to share my spoils.

"So, tell me the whole story about Lauren trying to switch groups," Alice said as she reached for a pepperoni roll and a bowl of sauce, dipping in and taking a big bite. We had told her the basic story of Lauren's request right after it happened a few days ago. Our Sales teams were split with each group covering two stations. Lauren wanted into a group led by anybody but Rosalie.

"Ugh, not her again," I complained, tired of discussing Lauren, yet again.

"You forget that I'm not there to see these things go down. You can't expect me to not want the details when someone finally puts her in her place," Alice argued.

"There isn't much to tell," Rosalie said. "She requested to switch groups, told Peter that she didn't think that I would treat her fairly, so he called me in and basically told her that she could switch, but she'd have to start from the beginning. She wouldn't be allowed to transfer her clients. They would be given to whoever takes her spot in my group."

Alice started laughing. "I love Peter. I bet she was pissed."

"I could hear her screeching across the hall," I said, laughing before uncapping my bottle of water and taking a drink.

"Yeah, she was pretty ticked," Rosalie said. "When she realized she'd have to give up all the commission she'd come to rely on from her clients, she switched tactics and started complaining about people in the office dating."

Alice's eyes widened, matching my own surprise, and a slow smirk spread across her face. "What'd Peter say about that?"

"He handled it better than I would have," Rosalie answered with a chuckle. "He said that the only rule against it referred to superior/subordinate relationships and that every relationship he was aware of, including me and Emmett, didn't violate company policy."

"Wait, I didn't hear that part," I said, shocked. I had no idea that she had brought that topic up during the meeting.

"Yeah," Rosalie said quietly, sounding sheepish. "I kind of left that part out." She smiled in apology. "I wasn't sure how you'd take it. It was pretty funny though. As he was talking, he did this little waving motion in the general direction of your office to let her know that he knew exactly what she was referring to. She shut up after that. He told her that if she decided she still wanted to move, just to let him know and we could accommodate her, but he reminded her again about not being able to take her clients with her. She left in a huff and hasn't said a word about it since."

"How has she been with you?" Alice asked warily, afraid of the answer.

"Surprisingly quiet," I said, covering my mouth while I finished chewing a bite. I took a few seconds to swallow before I started speaking again. "Other than a few glares and eye rolls from her and Jessica, everything's been all right. People are talking, but it's nothing unbearable, you know?"

We chatted until we were stuffed again, and Rosalie stood up and walked to the stereo while I took our dishes into the kitchen. When I came back in, Rosalie had turned some music on and was flipping through the CDs.

"You can't tell that we're radio people, can you?" she said, laughing as she pointed to the rows of CDs with chips or holes cut from the spines to show that they were promotional and not to be sold.

She turned the knob on the receiver to increase the volume as "King of Pain" by The Police started, then sighed. "I know he's probably old enough to be my dad, but I would do so many dirty things to Sting if given the opportunity."

"Really?" I asked while Alice laughed. I thought for a moment and shrugged, nodding slightly. "Yeah, I guess I can see it."

Rosalie rolled her eyes at my nonchalance before Alice piped in. "Nah, I'd hold out for someone like Dave Grohl. Ooh! Or Jack White."

My nose scrunched and lip curled, not at all impressed with her choices. "They're both really good musicians, but I don't see it, Ali. They aren't much to look at."

"Yeah," she said, braced to defend herself. "But the fact that they're such good musicians is what makes them attractive."

"If you say so," I said with a shrug.

"What about you?" Rosalie asked, turning the question over to me. "Who would make you forget your morals?"

I thought for a second before answering definitively, with a single nod for emphasis. "Gavin Rossdale."

"Ooh, Gavin," they both sighed the name in unison, making me chuckle.

"Good choice," Rosalie said, winking her approval.

"Definitely," Alice concurred. "Wait, I thought you had a thing for Rob Thomas?"

I snorted and shot her a look. "Well, yeah."

"Eh, he doesn't do it for me. Hey, isn't he supposed to be going on tour soon? Why haven't you booked him?" Rosalie interrupted.

"I'm trying!" I yelled out, a little more forcefully than intended, and Rosalie instantly widened her eyes in surprise and threw her hands up in front of her in defense.

"Okay, geez. Chill out. It was just a question." We all started laughing at the exuberance of my response as Rosalie continued to go through my CDs. After a few moments, she spoke again. "You know, I've always kind of had a thing for Billy Joel."

Silence filled the room, and Alice and I looked at each other before looking up at Rosalie to see if she was serious.

"Um, eww," Alice stated oh so eloquently.

"What?" Rosalie responded defensively.

"Really, Rosalie? Billy Joel?" I asked, still waiting for her to break character and tell us that she was just messing with us.

"Christ, you guys act like I just told you that I had a history of slingshotting my panties at Barry Manilow."

Alice and I burst into hysterics and after a few moments, Rosalie joined in. We were laughing so hard that we didn't hear the door open. It wasn't until a small voice interrupted us that we stopped and turned.

"Well, hello ladies," Max said, his voice full of more innuendo than a toddler's ever should. He was leaning against the doorway, legs crossed at the ankles, with his hands tucked in his pockets. I looked up at the three forms slowly entering behind him and assessed each face until I found the guilty party.

"Emmett, what the hell are you teaching him?"

"What makes you think it was me?" he asked.

"You said a bad word," Max whispered loudly in shock at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll give you a dollar later," I told him, then returned my attention back to Emmett. "Am I right?" I asked, certain that I was by the guilty expression he was unable to hide on his face.

"That's not important right now," he said, trying to deflect the question.

I looked at Max who seemed to be worried about my response and couldn't help but laugh. As inappropriate as it was, I couldn't deny that it was really freaking adorable. The kid was going to be a heartbreaker when he got older. A grin took over his face as he ran into the room and hopped up onto the couch with me. I pulled him onto my lap and into a hug before asking him if he had fun.

The guys made their way into the room, Edward taking the spot on the couch next to me, listening as Max recounted the entire day. When he finally stopped talking, Max noticed the junk food still splayed across the coffee table and slid from my lap to investigate. He pulled up a bag and looked at it curiously.

"What's this?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the bag.

"I don't think you'll like those. They're Sour Patch Kids—too sour for you."

He pouted and looked from the bag, then to me, then back to the bag. "But I wanna try."

"They're really sour," I reiterated, but the pout didn't relent. I knew there was only one way he'd give up. "Okay, you can try _one_."

He smiled brightly, and after much deliberation, he chose a red one, popping it into his mouth. The room quieted as everyone waited for his reaction. It took a few seconds, but his face contorted as expected and we all started laughing as his chewing slowed. I grabbed a napkin and held it out in front of his mouth. He spit the remainder out, and I handed him my bottle of water.

"I don't like those," he finally said once he had washed the taste out.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would," I responded with a chuckle before he gave up on the junk food, too fearful of a repeat experience, and decided to pull out the basket of toys from beside the entertainment stand.

"So, what were you ladies laughing about in here?" Jasper asked.

"Oh!" Rosalie called out as if hit by an epiphany and turned to Emmett. "I need to edit my list. I'm adding Gavin, but I'm still deciding who I need to drop. Maybe Brad Pitt—"

She was interrupted by Alice's gasp. "You're just going to drop Brad Pitt?"

"Yeah, ever since the whole Angelina thing, he's just kind of overrated, don't you think?" She waved her hand in the air flippantly as she pondered her list of "freebie" celebrities.

Ignoring Rosalie, Emmett turned to Edward and looked at him pointedly. "Don't let Bella have a list."

"Wait, why can't I have a list?" I asked, my tone a little offended.

"You want a list?" Edward asked, seeming surprised and possibly a little insulted.

"No, I just want to know why I can't have a list," I answered and turned back to Emmett, waiting for his response as Edward laughed.

"Because you're too well connected," he said as if it were obvious and looked to see that Max was within earshot, requiring him to choose his words carefully. "The whole reason any guy is comfortable with their girlfriend making a list is because, chances are, she'll never even get close enough to say 'hi', let alone do the things that you're supposedly allowed to do with the people on your list."

Everyone laughed at him, and he started to speak louder so that he could be heard. "No, seriously. I bet any musicians that you would put on your list, you probably get friggin' Christmas cards from them."

I thought for a moment and laughed as I nodded, realizing he was right.

The phone rang, interrupting us, and Max jumped up and ran toward the sound, yelling, "I got it!" For some reason, answering the phone had become a big deal to him recently.

I listened so that I could get an idea of who might have been at the other end of the line, if it was a call I needed to intercept, when I heard him say, "Hi, Gramma!" I turned to look at Alice with wide eyes. I hadn't told Renee anything about Edward yet, and Alice, knowing this and being familiar with how Renee operated, just laughed at my reaction. When Max started rambling about school, toys, and cartoons, I relaxed and joined in with everyone else's conversation.

Everything was fine until Max started talking about going to the baseball game earlier, and I cringed slightly when he listed off all of the guys' names when telling her who took him. She knew who Emmett and Jasper were, having met them several times during her visits, but Edward's name I knew would stand out and pique her curiosity.

Max had always referred to Edward as his friend or as someone who worked with me when anybody asked before, so I wasn't expecting to hear him answer 'Mama's boyfriend' to whatever question Renee had asked. I had no idea when or how he had made that connection since neither of us had ever actually said anything to him about why we were spending so much time together. It shocked me, but not enough to keep me from reacting.

Without thinking, I jumped up, leaping over the back of the couch and ran to Max, hoping to get to him before he could say anything too incriminating. He still didn't know about Edward spending the night, but he was certainly aware of how much time he spent here with us.

Max looked up at me like I was crazy and, still talking into the phone, said, "Okay, I think Mama wants to talk to you now, Gramma. Love you."

He handed the phone to me, and I took a deep breath before putting it up to my ear. I started walking toward the kitchen where it'd be quieter as I finally spoke. "Hey, Mom."

"So," she said shortly. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"Umm," I said, not sure how to begin this conversation.

"Oh, sweetie," she said with a laugh, letting me know that she wasn't upset at finding out this way. "Come on, tell me all about him. Is he cute? Oh, I bet he is. You wouldn't wait this long just to give it up to Quasimodo. How did you meet? What does he do? How long has this been going on? Is he good in—"

"Mom!" I shouted into the phone in a panic, trying desperately to shut her up before she finished that thought.

"Well, tell me _something_," she pled.

"You haven't stopped speaking long enough for me to say anything," I told her with a laugh. I sighed, deciding to get it all out there quickly, and ran through the basics of everything that had happened since Edward started working at the station.

I sat in a chair at the kitchen table, head held in my free hand, waiting for her response when I finished. I heard movement and looked up to see Edward walking quietly into the room. He mouthed 'are you okay' and I nodded, trying to smile but certain it came off as a grimace since I was now listening to another stream of my mother's questions.

When I heard her say, "So, have you two…?" and trail off suggestively, I cringed.

"Mom, I am not talking to you about that. There are some things that you don't need to know." It didn't matter that Edward and I hadn't had sex yet, I knew the way Renee worked. If I flat out denied it now and then tried to divert the question later, it was as good as confirmation. It was better to refuse to acknowledge the question altogether from the start.

"Oh, come on, Bella," she admonished. "It's not like I've deluded myself into thinking that you're a virgin. We have pretty solid proof to the contrary."

"Mom!" I shouted again in shock. "We are not having this conversation. Look, everyone's here and I've kind of ditched them to talk to you. Can I call you back later and talk when things are quieter?"

"Oh, of course! Go back to your friends," she insisted. "Don't forget to call. I want all the details."

"Not _all_ of the details," I maintained.

"You're no fun," she said with a sigh, and I couldn't help but laugh. My mother, Ms. Tactless. "Okay, I was just calling to say 'hello' anyway. I have to head out and meet some friends anyway so I'll talk to you soon. Love you!"

"Love you, too," I told her. "Goodbye."

I hung up the phone and warily looked up at Edward who was watching me with concern. "My mom," I said, stating the obvious as I motioned to the abandoned cordless on the table. "She's, uh, a lot to handle."

He chuckled as he sat down in the chair next to mine and pulled me over onto his lap. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I said, shaking my head at the ridiculous conversation I had just had. "My mother can be a lot to take in. She's better in small doses. She has no concept of where the lines of propriety begin and end, especially when it comes to me and my personal life."

He laughed lightly, and his lips found my neck, working their way from shoulder to ear, immediately eliminating the tension that had built up during that short telephone conversation. "She didn't know?" he asked against my skin.

"No," I said, feeling guilty. His parents knew enough about me to want me to visit and, yet, my mother had no idea that Edward even existed. "I told Charlie, but I haven't spoken to her much recently and when I did, I didn't know how to bring it up without facing a barrage of inappropriate questions. Not telling her had nothing to do with you. It was all about her and her lack of filter."

He chuckled and the waft of air tickled the now damp skin on my neck. He kissed along my jaw, and I brought my hands up to the sides of his face as I dipped my chin so that I could meet his lips with mine. He started with light kisses, but when I felt his hands move under the back of my shirt and trace the bare skin there, I sighed and he took advantage, slipping his tongue into my mouth.

After a couple minutes, I retreated enough to mumble against his lips, "We should probably go back out there."

"We probably should," he responded before the kiss deepened again.

We didn't rejoin our friends for a while.

Everyone left early in the evening, giving me some quiet time with Max. I blamed the abundance of sugar that was still in my system for my temporary insanity, causing me to allow him to paint. A half dozen priceless works of refrigerator art later, Max's skin had taken on an interesting 'Easter egg explosion' look to it. I stripped his old t-shirt off of him, dropping it directly into the trash, not wanting to even bother trying to salvage it, and quickly took a rag to the multi-colored surface of my kitchen table where the paint had seeped through the old newspapers.

After guiding Max into the bathroom, I filled the tub and got him ready to hop in, taking care to not allow any residual paint spatters to decorate this room too. Max immediately reached for the net that was suctioned to the wall by the tub and promptly unloaded all of his bath toys into the water and sat down with a splash, ready to play.

"So, did you have fun today?" I asked him, gently nudging his head to tip backwards so that I could pour a cup of water over his hair.

"Uh huh," he said, staring at the ceiling until I was done. I squirted some shampoo into my hand and started to massage it through his hair as he began to, once again, relive the baseball game. I laughed at his excitement over the simplest things. "And then everybody put their hands in the air like this," he said as he threw his arms up, nearly knocking the cup from my hand as I tried to rinse the soap from his head. There was nothing more fun to a toddler or a middle-aged drunk than 'the wave.'

"Grandpa Charlie's going to be jealous. You'll have to call him tomorrow and tell him all about the game," I told him as I chuckled.

"Maybe Grandpa can come next time!" Max yelled out with excitement over his idea.

"I bet he'd like that. We'll have to see when he can visit again."

I had finished washing his hair and started soaping up the washcloth while listening to Max. "He can come to the game with me and Edward. He said we could go again, just me and him. Can I go again, Mama?"

"Um, okay? Sure," I said, confused, since this was the first I'd heard about another game. I didn't know what to make of my own reaction to this knowledge. I definitely wasn't upset that they had apparently made plans without asking me; whatever this feeling was, it was wholly new. The idea that Edward was planning things with Max that I had long ago accepted that he would miss out on, not having a father in his life, left me speechless. I was quickly brought out of my daze by the sound of splashing reverberating off of the tiled bathroom walls.

Max grinned brighter at my consent and, though I wouldn't have thought it possible, began speaking even more excitedly as his action figure continued to 'cliff dive' from the edge of the tub.

"He said he would buy me a glove and we could sit closer next time so that I can try and catch a ball like the boy on the big TV!"

I blinked rapidly, realizing that wetness was beginning to pool in my eyes while a lump formed in my throat, and I smiled down at Max. "You really like Edward, don't you?"

"Uh huh." His reply was simple, but the smile on his face said more than any words could have.

"Me too," I said, just before he began rambling again, making plans for the next game.

Monday morning found me buried in contracts that had been pouring in, filling open dates through summer and into fall with a decent head start for the winter months. I needed to get it all organized before we left for the conference so, other than a quick 'hello' when I got in, I didn't spend any time in the studio. I went directly to my office to check the weekend mail and faxes so I could get started.

I lost all track of time, and it wasn't until Edward and Emmett stopped by that I realized how late in the morning it was.

"We're heading down to the fishbowl now. You coming?" Emmett asked, referring to the conference room with glass walls on three sides where our meetings were always held.

I looked at the time, shocked that so much had passed and it was time for the department head meeting. I shuffled the paperwork on my desk, putting the contracts back into a folder rather than leave them out. "Yeah, I'll be right behind you," I said distractedly, feeling caught off-guard.

I shuffled things around in an attempt to organize the chaotic mess I had made over the course of the morning, and looked up a minute later, startled to see that they were still there, waiting. "Oh!"

They both chuckled at my surprise, and I flushed, embarrassed at how unaware of my surroundings I was. I could have sworn they'd gone ahead and left without me. Emmett turned and started walking once he realized I was coming, and Edward just shook his head, wrapping one arm around my shoulder to pull me into him so that he could kiss my temple while he continued to laugh. When the moment was over, we took a step away from each other—though we were no longer hiding, we still tried to maintain a distance in the office just to stay professional—and headed down to the lower floor for the meeting.

All of the department heads were still filtering in when we made it to the 'fishbowl,' and I took my usual seat near the end of the table. Edward sat next to me, while Emmett took the open seat next to Rosalie, directly across from us. Within minutes, the last manager arrived and shut the door behind him as Peter took the seat to my left, at the end of the conference table.

We quickly went around the room, each department highlighting any news that was important from their ends. Once everyone had made their announcements, Peter took over the remainder of the meeting.

"The only new thing we have this week is for radio. We have Payola/Plugola and On-Air Decency training coming up. Make sure all of your staff has completed this by the end of the month so that we're good with the FCC."

"Thank you, Janet Jackson," Emmett interrupted, referring to the FCC's crackdown after her Super Bowl indiscretion.

"Yes," Peter laughed. "One little flash and we're the ones stuck getting quizzed every year. Anyway, I think that's about ready to go, right?"

Peter had turned his attention to the head of our IT department, Dustin. "I just want to run through it again after the meeting to make sure the quiz is working right before I send the link out to everybody. Are you sure you don't want me to illustrate what is or isn't acceptable for the On-Air Decency section?"

Peter chuckled, and Emmett didn't hesitate to pipe up. "Yeah, I think we need to see what isn't appropriate. I mean, someone can tell you what isn't 'decent' but it doesn't have the same resonance as when you _see_ it."

Emmett and Dustin bumped fists. "Exactly," Dustin said with a devious grin. "I'm sure I could find something artsy to use as examples if you're worried about it being too graphic."

As Emmett and Dustin continued to conspire quietly on the other side of the table, Peter finished up the meeting, giving everybody the go-ahead to return to their offices, and the room slowly started to empty. Peter shuffled through some papers, and my attention was turned to him when he dropped a small stack in front of me.

I looked up at him to see a lazy grin on his face then I looked around the room in confusion. The last of the managers were heading out the door, shutting it behind them, leaving only Emmett and Rosalie across from me, looking curious, and Edward beside me, clearly itching to read the papers I'd been handed. I looked back at Peter one last time to see him arch an eyebrow and tilt his head to indicate I should direct my attention to whatever he had given me.

I looked down and began reading, pulling the stack closer to me as I tried to make sense of the words.

"What—"

"Keep reading," Peter said with a smile.

"Is this for next year?" I asked, and when I looked up at him, he shook his head. "This year?"

"This year," he repeated, and my eyes widened.

"This is in just over two weeks. I can't… that's impossible… there's no way," I rambled, beginning to panic.

The muffled sounds of everybody asking me to explain what Peter and I were talking about barely registered as I continued to read. I couldn't respond; I could scarcely comprehend it myself.

Somehow, through the haze, I recognized the soft touch as Edward ran a knuckle up and down my upper arm. I blinked a few times in an attempt to clear my head as I slowly turned to look at him. His brow was furrowed in concern while his eyes searched frantically, trying to assess my reaction. Softly, he whispered, "Everything okay?"

"Um," I started before swallowing as I fought to find the words. "At the conference, they want me to speak."

Rosalie and Emmett interrupted me, telling me how great it was and congratulating me, but Edward was silent, still waiting for me to finish. Before I could continue, Peter spoke up. "Actually, it's a bit more than just speaking. They had a presenter cancel, and they've asked her to do an entire presentation for the live entertainment folks on maintaining viability in a struggling economy since all of our venues continue to profit though most other markets are facing heavy losses."

This only served to excite them more, and even Edward reacted at this, grinning hugely. When he realized that my emotions didn't match everyone else's, his features softened.

"What's wrong?"

I looked around to see that everyone's emotions had sobered at the realization that I wasn't celebrating with them.

"It's impossible," I said, trying not to look at anyone directly. "There's no way I can stand up in front of all of those people, for an extended period of time and not fall on my figurative—and knowing me, literal—ass."

I was met with protests, my head still too fogged to be able to discern who was saying what. It wasn't until everyone quieted and Rosalie spoke up that I was able to focus. "You'll do fine. You used to do on-air work, you spoke to thousands of people at a time when you did that. You can handle a few hundred."

"That's completely different," I countered.

Emmett leaned forward, disbelief in his voice, ready to argue. "How so?"

"Because," I said, feeling frustrated, "I didn't have to see any of those people. I could stare at the computer screen and convince myself that it was just me. I didn't have to stand in front of them, make eye contact, watch their reactions…"

My breathing was starting to speed up in my panic, and Edward was rubbing my back, trying to calm me down.

Peter sat down, his voice soft as he started talking. "I know you're nervous, but you can't pass up this opportunity. This will give you an even higher profile in the industry, and maybe then the people at corporate will finally get their heads out of their asses and realize that the caliber of your work is much more than your title implies and rectify that."

I knew he was right. My nervousness aside, it was an unbelievable opportunity, but there was still the issue of this being so last minute. I nodded to let him know that I understood what he was saying before I spoke. "But this is two weeks away. Two weeks! How am I supposed to put together a professional presentation in that amount of time? It's impossible. I have my regular work to do, get ready for this trip… there's no way I can pull it off."

"Pull some interns in to do some of the busy work, to file those contracts—"

I cut him off. "No way. All of the interns are too new, I wouldn't trust them with the contracts, even if it is just copying and filing."

Edward, now massaging the back of my neck, spoke up. "What about Angela? You trust her, right?" I nodded. "Have an intern cover the switchboard and have her help you out."

"Perfect," Peter said before I could say anything. "Let her work with you until you leave for the trip. You can work from home if you need to. I know there'll be too many distractions if you try and work from your office—phone calls, people stopping in, emails. Work from home as much as you can for the next two weeks and if you need help, just ask. There are enough people here willing to lend a hand to get it done."

The more he spoke, the more I thought about it, and the more excited I started to get about the idea, despite the nerves I had when thinking about standing in front of all of those people. Together, we all hashed out plans for the next twenty minutes until I was confident that I could pull this off.

When I made it back to my office, Edward pulled me into his arms. "Are you feeling better?"

I nodded against his chest. "Much. I'm still nervous, but I'll be okay."

"You'll be amazing," he said against my hair. "I just wish I didn't have to be in other seminars so that I could see you."

I snorted ungracefully as my arms wrapped lazily around his waist. "No offense, but I'm glad you won't be there. The only thing worse than speaking in front of strangers is having people I know there. If I'm going to do this, I need the illusion of anonymity."

Luckily, he wasn't upset by my admission and laughed at me instead.

I did as Peter suggested, and by the time I was ready to call it a day on Monday, I had Post-its all over my office with various instructions for Angela on all of the things she could take care of for me while I worked on this presentation. I had calls forwarded to my BlackBerry and camped out either in my home office or in the living room with the laptop every day while life went on as usual back at the office. I'd call to check in every so often, but for the most part I spent my days working in the relative quiet of home. Max was out of school for the summer, soccer long over, and it was nice to spend my days with him instead of shuffling him next door while I spent eight hours downtown. More than once I felt the urge to say a prayer of thanks that he wasn't a demanding child and would play quietly while I worked.

By the beginning of the following week, I had my presentation almost complete. It would need to be tweaked a bit to make it visually appealing, but the content was there. My confidence grew as I neared the final product.

"Scooch," Edward instructed, and I shifted forward as he slid from the couch behind me. I was sitting on the floor at the coffee table, scanning through the presentation yet again. He had come over and spent time with Max, like he had nearly every night, so that I had even more time to work, and had just come back downstairs after putting Max to bed. He had been unbelievably supportive, offering to help research information, bring home files from the office, or attempting to make dinner or just picking up take-out so that I didn't have to stop what I was doing to cook. I knew I wouldn't have been as far ahead as I was without him, and I was finding it difficult to remember what life was like before he was a part of it.

His arms wrapped around my waist, and his lips fell to my skin. After a few quick kisses, he rested his chin on my shoulder to look at the progress on the screen in front of us. "How's it coming along?"

I leaned back into his warmth and placed my hands over his. "Great. I just need to play with some graphics and it's done. I think I might actually be able to do this."

"There was never a doubt, baby," he said, and I turned my head to see him grinning at me. _Baby_. The word had slipped out so casually, and sure, it was cliché and used by thousands every day, but that wasn't enough to stop my breath from catching in my throat. I wasn't sure he even realized he had said it, and I couldn't resist, so I kissed him.

It was intended to be a chaste kiss, but I couldn't bring myself to pull back. Knowing that Max was asleep seemed to give both of us a certain amount of confidence. It was the same confidence that had been building, night by night, in the quiet of my bedroom.

In all honesty, I knew that it was me that required the slow build. More than once, I had wished I could have found it in me to be bold, to let go completely, but I felt so out of practice with intimacy that moving any faster would have sent me into a panic. It had been so long that I couldn't help but second guess myself. And the difference between this relationship and all of my previous ones—especially the last one—made this feel like a completely new experience because nothing compared to how I felt with Edward.

And I couldn't deny that even the little advancements that we had made already felt a thousand times more intimate than I'd ever felt with anybody. If just the touch of his hand, the feel of his skin on mine, could elicit the physical and emotional reactions that it did, I couldn't begin to fathom how overwhelmingly powerful it would feel to give myself to him fully.

As his hand slipped under the hem of my tank and slowly ascended until it met the lace of my bra, I started to think that I might finally be ready to find out.

I slowly turned around in the small space between his parted legs and the coffee table, our lips never disconnecting. He didn't move his hand, instead allowing it to graze around my ribs to my back as I twisted around, the tank hiking higher with the motion until my entire abdomen was exposed.

Edward's free hand moved up to my neck and tangled in the waves of my hair, increasing pressure to fuse our mouths even more tightly together as I continued shifting to find a comfortable position. I eventually ended up straddling his lap, and it took little time for his hand to descend to my lower back and wrap around me, so that he could pull my hips even closer. We both groaned lightly when, upon contact, we were instantly reminded of just how ready our bodies were for this.

We continued to struggle to get closer, and for a time, the world around us was forgotten. Thankfully, a brief moment of clarity washed over me and I remembered where we were. Though Max was a pretty sound sleeper, and usually out for the night once he had fallen asleep, I wasn't about to take any chances.

Reluctantly, I pulled back from his kiss, only to have him lean forward to catch my lips again. My resolve was weakening, so I struggled to quickly communicate the need to take this elsewhere. "Upstairs," I managed to murmur before he kissed me again. I allowed it to continue only for a moment before I pulled back enough to mumble the word "locks" against his lips.

Fortunately, he seemed to have no trouble deciphering the meaning of those two words, correctly interpreting them to declare the need to get to a room with a door that could be locked. In an instant, he held me tighter as he pushed himself up off the floor, leaving me no choice but to wrap my legs around him once he was standing.

For a moment, he stood still and simply looked into my eyes. I knew what he was looking for, and I nodded to let him know that I was ready. He kissed me again and started walking to the steps, always an impressive multitasker. Once we reached the stairs, I buried my face in his neck and breathed in his scent. As he ascended, carrying me with ease, I languidly kissed a trail up and down his neck.

Once we were inside the bedroom door, I unwrapped my legs to stand on the ground and reached out to twist the lock on the door behind us. Together, we walked until we reached the side of my bed.

"Are you sure?" he whispered as his hands grazed the bottom the tank that was still pushed up, though it had fallen to the middle of my stomach during the trip upstairs.

"Completely certain," I said, my voice staying strong and steady as I maintained eye contact without so much as a blink.

Slowly, he pulled the tank up and over my head. I brought my arms down to his shoulders and met him in another fiery kiss. While my fingers threaded through his hair, his hands roamed my back, sides, and stomach until reaching the waistband of my yoga pants. His fingers trailed along the edge, back and forth, again and again, and just before I reached the edge of insanity, they pushed under the elastic and made the same back and forth circuit. Whether he was teasing me, giving me time to change my mind, or maybe even working up his own courage, I didn't know, but after a few moments his hands moved determinedly to push the waistband over my hips and down my thighs. It only took the slightest wiggle from me to cause them to fall to the floor. As his arms tightened around me once again, forcing me to my toes, I shifted my weight onto one foot so that I could step out, then shifted to the other foot and kicked them to the side, out of our way.

My hands trailed from his hair, over his shoulders, and down his chest until they stopped at the hem of his tee. I slowly pushed it up. When I couldn't go any farther without breaking the kiss, he pulled away, ripping the shirt over his head before reconnecting our lips with a desperate need. It was as if something had snapped. The force caused me to arch backwards, the only thing keeping me from tumbling to the bed was the grip I had on his shoulders and the firm hold his arms had around my waist.

Slowly, he straightened up which gave me the chance to steady myself on my feet. He swiftly began unbuttoning his jeans, and my hands instinctively went to his sides to help push them over his hips and to the floor. He stepped closer, forcing me backward once again, this time allowing me to slowly fall to the mattress. With my hands at my sides, I worked my way backwards as Edward crawled above me, matching my pace so that his lips wouldn't have to disconnect from mine. When I reached the center, my head at my pillows, I relaxed into the soft comfort of the mattress.

Edward pulled back slightly to look into my eyes, most likely trying to gauge my readiness once again. A thousand emotions passed in those seconds, and I knew I had never been more certain of anything in my life. Closer, he leaned down, falling to his elbows and pressing his lips to my shoulder. Kiss by kiss, he worked his way up to my ear, and by the time he started to work his way back down, I couldn't control myself any longer. I laughed.

He immediately froze but didn't move away.

"Edward?" I said, trying to stifle the giggle.

"Yeah?" he mumbled against my neck and started kissing again.

"That tickles," I said, and this time, he laughed.

I tried. Really, I did. I had tried so hard not to interrupt the moment, but he hadn't shaved in a couple days and I was apparently no match for the stubble. He started to move away but my left hand instantly snapped up to his neck to keep him in place.

"Don't," I instructed, not wanting him to move. "I kinda like it."

He laughed heartily and pushed himself up to look at me. The laughter lit his entire face, and I couldn't help but smile and laugh back.

"You're so weird," he teased with a sigh, his fingers tracing random patterns on my stomach, causing the muscles in my abdomen to clench.

"I'm not weird," I said earnestly. "I'm quirky."

He laughed again and leaned down to press his lips to mine, and I could feel his smile, unable to prevent my own and wondering if we looked like complete fools, laying there in our underwear with goofy grins on our faces. With each second that passed, though, things became more and more heated until we were right back where we had left off before my interruption.

His kisses trailed lower and lower, first edging along the lace of my bra before reaching behind me to unclasp it and toss it off the side of the bed. He devoted a good bit of attention to the newly exposed skin, leaving me completely breathless, then continuing down before stopping at my belly button. My breaths grew increasingly ragged until they stopped altogether as his fingers traced the lace of my panties.

His kisses continued until his lips, too, met at the edge of the lace, and he looked up through his lashes at me. I could barely focus on anything, and before I knew it, he sat up enough to hook his fingers and pull, leaving me completely exposed.

He sat back, just looking down at me, his gaze travelling all over my body, and I grew increasingly more self-conscious and looked around, anywhere but him. Slowly, he crawled back up until his face was directly over mine. "Beautiful," he whispered just before his lips descended.

He allowed some of his weight to rest on me, as I wrapped myself around him, reveling in the feel of skin on skin. Slowly, my hands travelled lower until I reached the waistband of his boxers. He shifted his weight, and together we rid him of them. For a time, we just lay there, hands and lips roaming over whatever skin was within reach.

He dropped his forehead to my collarbone and breathed deeply, trying to collect himself. "Wallet," he mumbled, to himself it seemed, and it only took a second to realize what he meant.

"Nightstand," I countered, and he looked up in surprise then arched an eyebrow and smirked. I rolled my eyes. "Alice."

He laughed. "When?"

I felt the flush on my skin. "Um, first date." He laughed at my embarrassment, and I started to ramble, feeling the need to explain. "She can be a little presumptuous. She, uh—"

"Baby? I _really_ don't want to talk about Alice right now," he said with a laugh.

I laughed lightly and as he moved away, I momentarily covered my face with my hands, trying to will the embarrassment away. I could hear him tear into the box and rip the packet open. Before I knew it, he was over me again, the look on his face doing more than any internal pep talk could have done to make me forget about feeling any shyness or nervousness.

"We don't have to—" he started before I stopped him with a kiss. The only thing that I was hesitant about was the discomfort that I knew was inevitable since it had been so long. That wasn't exactly something that would be helped with more time, so there was no reason to allow it to ruin this moment.

"I don't want to stop," I said, keeping my eyes locked on his so that he knew I meant what I said. "It's just… been a while… so, go slow at first?" I said, the words sounding more like a question.

"Of course," he whispered against my lips before I felt him move against me. My breath hitched in nervousness and anticipation before I felt him press forward. "Tell me if you need me to stop."

I instantly recognized the advantage of having expected the worst; though it wasn't entirely pleasant yet, it wasn't nearly as painful as I had been worrying about all this time. He was patient while I adjusted, and in no time we had synchronized our movements.

I could focus on nothing but him, _us_. Even my peripheral vision had faded away into a blur. Nothing else mattered and though the physical connection was intense, the emotion passing between us magnified everything exponentially. Never before had I taken the time to stare into somebody's eyes, and I realized that connection was just as powerful as our physical one, if not more so. We were both gasping for breath, the kiss having ended long ago out of necessity and the inability to keep up with it, but our mouths never fully parted from each other and left us to breathe each other in.

Eventually, Edward shifted to his knees and sat back on his heels, at the same time pulling me with him so that we never disconnected. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders tightly while one of his grasped my lower back, the other circling higher, his hand coming up and hooking over my shoulder, so that he could guide our movements.

I didn't know how long it took—time had ceased to matter—but I could feel the tension building as my heart rate increased. I tried to hold tighter, but it was impossible, our bodies so slicked with sweat. "Close. So close," I gasped as I buried my face into his shoulder.

He slowly lowered me back down to the bed, simultaneously pulling at my thigh to urge me to wrap my legs around his waist. "Let go, baby," he whispered against my lips. "Just let go."

As if my body was waiting for permission, I felt the snap as muscles throughout my body tensed and flexed involuntarily. I wanted to cry out, but thankfully some part of my subconscious remembered what a bad idea too much noise would be. Edward was still moving while I tried to regain some amount of awareness. Before I knew it, he was mumbling incoherently into my shoulder as his body began to tense as well. I held on and watched as his features contorted beautifully, amazed that I could do that to him, that my body could draw that response from him.

He collapsed, and I sighed with contentment as his weight pressed my body into the mattress. I didn't want to let go, so I continued to hold tightly so that he couldn't move away. My hand found its way to his hair and brushed through the damp strands at his neck. Slowly, he lifted his head and my hand moved to brush away what was falling over his forehead and into his eyes, fingertips trailing over the beads of sweat at his hairline. His eyes held a certain amount of awe, and I was sure that mine mirrored the sentiment.

He pressed his lips to mine before whispering against them, "So perfect. I've never felt like this before."

I sighed with contentment. "Me either. Only you."

I knew that we had just shared something amazing, but I wanted to enjoy the moment and not analyze the intensity I felt. We kissed languidly, again losing track of time. Eventually we pulled apart to clean up, but quickly returned to the bed to resume our kisses. As we calmed, the exhaustion took over, and I fell asleep in his arms feeling more content and at peace than I ever remembered feeling in my life.


	19. Home

**Chapter 19 – EPOV**

I managed to get a couple hours of sleep, but I still woke up long before the alarm. To say that I had been surprised by the turn that things had taken the night before would've been a massive understatement. I had been prepared to wait much, much longer, but I couldn't say it was an unwelcome surprise.

I propped myself up on one elbow, raising myself enough to look over her to the nightstand to see the time. I still had thirty minutes before the alarm went off, but I knew I wouldn't fall back asleep at this point. Instead, I used the angle to look down at Bella in the dim light of the room. She sighed in her sleep, and with the arm that was already around her waist, I pulled her back closer to me. The shadow of her silhouette was too tempting, and I kissed a trail across her shoulder blade before burying my nose into the back of her neck and breathing her in. She was sleeping heavily, the action not coming close to waking her, just as I'd hoped. She'd been working herself ragged trying to get this presentation finished, and she needed the rest.

I knew she was still concerned about speaking, but compiling information and creating the PowerPoint presentation had kept her from thinking too much about it. Not that I had any doubts before, but as she pieced this thing together in record time, it was clear that she knew her shit. Almost all of it was pulled from memory; she only needed to do actual research when she required exact figures. She was good at what she did and was nothing but confident when working, so I had faith that once she got up there in front of everyone, talking about what she knew, the nervousness would abate and her expertise would shine through. I was sure it was just the idea of speaking in front of a group that unnerved her and that once she was in the moment, she'd handle it like a pro.

In the meantime, I had tried to be as accommodating as I could, offering to be her personal courier service between the office and her house, keeping Max entertained when my workday was over so she could work, or making sure they had dinner ready for them every night. I loved every second of it. I'd never been so 'domestic' in my life, and I was sure that not too long ago I would've teased any friends who found themselves doing something similar, but my entire hierarchy of priorities had shifted when this girl stepped into my life.

More than once I'd caught myself thinking about how this almost felt like a family, then had to stop before getting too far ahead of myself. I couldn't help it though; we were like a fucking team, the three of us. Even Max had done his part to help, whether it was picking out backgrounds—he preferred blue—and images for Bella's presentation, or assisting me in the kitchen the few times I attempted to actually make something rather than order delivery. Of course, we always ended up on the phone with my mother on those nights, since anything beyond 'dorm food' was a challenge for me. She didn't mind at all; in fact, she tried to talk me into calling her every night for step by step instructions. I was pretty sure that had to do with Max, though. He'd chatter away on the phone with her—and on occasion, my dad when he was home—while I tried to recreate her recipes with moderate success, and she happily indulged him. Very happily. She completely fucking adored him. She said so, frequently… without the expletive, of course.

She'd even managed to get Bella on the phone a few times when she had come into the kitchen to check on things, needing a break from the computer. I laughed the first time Max shoved the phone in Bella's face, telling her that Mom wanted to talk to her. She looked terrified, but Mom quickly put her at ease and they started talking like they had known each other forever. It made my heart swell that they all got along so well; it was like everything was falling into place for us, further proof that we made sense together.

Bella shifted slightly in her sleep, bringing me out of my thoughts. I watched to see if she was waking, but she settled against me and her breathing evened out again. I repeated the circuit of kisses and moved my arm from around her, only to rest it in the same position, this time under the sheet. Between the warmth of her bare skin under my hand and the perfect fit of her tiny body curving with mine, I realized that I needed to figure out a way to quickly contradict basic biology because even if she woke up in this instant and was willing, there simply wasn't enough time to have her again.

Again.

Just the implications that came with that word—in order for there to be an 'again' there must have been a 'before'—sent my head spinning as I remembered. I had been afraid that she was acting out of appreciation for what I'd been doing and I didn't want this step to be just a 'thanks.' She needed to be ready, she needed to want it too and not simply feel obligated to show her gratitude. She'd made it clear, though, that her decision had been made and that she wanted me as much as I wanted her.

Despite her occasional battles with nerves, we were so comfortable with each other, even finding a couple moments of laughter. And being with her was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It went so far beyond just a physical act.

She began to stir next to me, quietly humming her acknowledgement of the lazy circles I was tracing on her bare hip.

"Wha' time?" she mumbled, her voice raspy from sleep, as she turned her head toward me, eyes squinted.

I chuckled at her negligible coherence and the fact that looking at the clock a few feet away didn't occur to her. I pressed a kiss to her lips, grinning at her mumble of protest when I pulled away just as quickly. "Just after four. Go back to sleep."

She hummed a response, something I'd gotten used to since I had started spending the night here. She was barely functional when she woke up and preferred not to have to think about forming actual words. I'd become an expert at phrasing all conversation as questions that she could answer simply by humming her affirmation or negation.

She started to doze again, a contented smile on her face, and I couldn't help but mentally pat myself on the back for putting it there. Reluctantly, I dragged myself away from her, out of bed and to the shower because, yeah, I had started leaving my things here. It was way too early to dedicate the extra time to heading back to my apartment. Even though it was just a couple blocks away, it was much easier to get ready for work here and just drop my car back off in the garage before heading straight to the station.

When I made it back into the room, I could see her shifting around in the bed, awake again and trying to get comfortable. I stepped closer to her as I buttoned my shirt, watching her squirm around on the bed. I was a few steps away when she opened her eyes and saw me there.

"Oh, thank God," she said with a sigh of relief as she yanked the sheet loose from the tangled pile, wrapped it around herself, and ran into the bathroom. I watched, amused, at her retreating form.

She was back a few minutes later, the sheet now balled in her hand and wearing a robe. I had flipped the lamp on that sat on her nightstand, so her blush was plain to see. "Uh… the sound of running water was torturous."

I reached out to pull her in front of me where I sat at the edge of the bed. "You could've come in."

"Yeah, I don't think I'm ready to share _that_ moment," she said with a roll of her eyes.

I laughed lightly at her. "You have other bathrooms in this house."

Her face scrunched in thought before she shrugged. "Oh yeah. I guess I do. It's too early for me to think about anything beyond this room."

Her hands instinctively went around my neck, and I felt the goose bumps erupt the moment her fingers began playing with the hair at the nape. Her eyes held mine as we both started to grin stupidly at each other. With one sharp tug, she landed on my lap with a gasp. My lips went straight for her collarbone and her head fell backwards to give me more access to her skin. I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the confirmation that she didn't regret last night.

"I just have," I whispered slowly once I had worked my way up to her ear, taking personal pride in the way her breath hitched before finishing, "one question."

She swallowed hard before shakily asking, "What's that?"

I pulled back to look into her eyes for a moment, then switched back to a completely normal tone of voice and asked incredulously, "Are we really staying in separate rooms in Vegas?"

She threw her head back in laughter while I took advantage of the opportunity to admire her as I waited for her answer.

"I guess I should call the travel agent and have her release one of the rooms," she finally responded just before I twisted my body so that I could toss her down onto the bed.

Hovering over her, I stopped just before my lips met hers. "Damn right you should."

She lifted her head to close the distance, and as she opened her mouth to me, I could taste the mint of her toothpaste. My hands found their way inside her robe, which I was happy to discover was the only thing she had on. She didn't stop me. Hell, after opening that door last night, there was no way she could take it back now. Okay, she could, and I would back off if she asked, but until she said the word, I had free reign, right?

"I wish you didn't have to go," she mumbled against my lips immediately pulling me out of the moment as I remembered that I had somewhere to be.

I dropped my forehead to her collarbone. "Me, too."

I grudgingly rolled off of her and stood up, mentally cursing as she adjusted her robe to close it tighter as she sat up. "Will I see you later?"

Like she had to ask. I looked at her with an arched eyebrow and she responded, "I know, I know. Stupid question."

She climbed out of the bed, and I grumbled in protest when she walked to her dresser to take out pajamas. She looked over at me and laughed. "It's not like you'll be here to enjoy my lack of clothing, and I'm not about to risk falling back asleep and Max waking up before me."

"I know, but you could've at least waited until I was gone instead of destroying the mental image I was leaving with." I felt my face pull up on one side in a grin and winked before I could stop myself.

She looked at me, expressionless for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and dropping the pajamas back into the open drawer. "Okay."

Shit. Didn't think that one through.

I grumbled again and stalked back over to her, pulling her lips to mine with a hand at the back of her neck. I could feel her smile against my lips before mumbling, "You're going to be late."

"I don't care," I said, tilting my head in an attempt to deepen the kiss.

Instead of responding, she laughed lightly. "Yes, you do."

Damn it, she was right. I hated the idea of being late for work, but not as much as I hated the idea of leaving this room. Still, I reluctantly pulled away and sighed in disappointment. "To be continued at a later time."

I kissed her one last time before running out of the room, down the steps, and out the door to my car.

The day was long, just like each one since Bella had been working from home. I hadn't realized how much I'd come to depend on being able to catch up with her for a few minutes here and there throughout the day. Quite a few times, I'd caught myself thinking I'd heard her out in the hall only to remember she wasn't here, which was most likely why when I heard familiar voices nearing my door, I initially ignored them. As they got louder though, I knew I wasn't hearing things this time, so I pushed away from my desk and stepped into the hall.

I had only taken two steps outside my door before a small body crashed into my legs.

"Edward!"

I leaned down to pick Max up off the floor, laughing as the image of him hitting me and flying backwards replayed in my head. "Be careful there, buddy."

I hoisted him up onto my hip and looked up to see Emmett and Bella laughing.

"Kid didn't stand a chance," Emmett said, laughing and pointing at Bella. "He's as bad as you."

Bella pursed her lips and elbowed Emmett in the side without even looking at him. "Shut up."

"You know it's true, Jelly Belly."

"Stop calling me that," Bella grumbled.

I'd heard them have the same conversation many times, pretty much always verbatim, and I couldn't stand not knowing the story behind it, so I finally just asked. "Okay, so what's up with the whole 'Jelly Belly' thing? I feel like I'm missing out on something."

Emmett laughed, and Bella shot him a dirty look as Jasper came strolling around the corner, who, having overheard my question, took it upon himself to answer. "You see, when Bella first started working here and hanging out with us after work, Emmett thought it was hilarious that she couldn't drink with the rest of us."

Emmett picked up where Jasper stopped. "Being the good friend that I am, I didn't want her to feel left out. So, one night, we were all out and I brought her a present."

He paused for effect, treating the story much more seriously than it actually was. "I gave her a pound of Piña Colada Jelly Belly Jellybeans."

He stopped to laugh again, proud of himself, so Jasper jumped in. "She managed to finish the whole pound that night and ended up craving them for a solid month."

With resignation, Bella finally piped up. "After a few too many drinks, Emmett thought it would make a hilarious nickname. He only pulls it out when he really wants to annoy or embarrass me. He actually laid off of it for a while there."

Emmett grinned and nodded at her assessment. Bella looked at him for a moment, thoughtful and with narrowed eyes, and then it was like we could see the light bulb go off above her head. "Actually, he didn't start using it again until you showed up."

She looked at me, the pieces falling into place, and she quickly looked back at Emmett. "You were trying to embarrass me in front of him!"

He didn't respond verbally—just shrugged—but his eyes were full of mirth, giving him away. With both hands, she pushed on his arm, causing him to take a couple stutter steps sideways, and we all laughed while Bella mumbled, "You idiot."

Jasper and Emmett went off in separate directions while Bella, Max, and I ducked into my office. Still holding Max, I bent down to quickly kiss Bella, and out of my peripheral vision, I saw Max cover his eyes with both hands, still apparently grossed out by PDA.

"So what are you two doing here?" I asked her before setting Max back down onto the floor.

Bella stepped closer and rested the side of her head on my bicep. "I'm pretty much finished with the presentation, just whatever tweaking I do between now and then, so I decided to come in and see what I could accomplish from my ever-growing pile on my desk."

"Did you just get here?"

"About twenty minutes ago," she said while wrapping her arms around my waist. I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her tightly against me. "I stopped in my office first and there really isn't too much there. Angela's really been kicking tail while I've been out, and I've kept up from home with most of what she couldn't do. I can probably get it all done in a couple hours."

"I'm almost done; I was just getting ready to call it a day. Why don't you let me take Max with me, and you can get your stuff caught up. Just come to my place when you're done," I offered.

"You don't have to do that," she said, looking up at me. "You've done so much already the past couple weeks."

I looked at her pointedly. "I know I don't _have_ to. I want to."

She was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. "You're sure?"

"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't," I said, grinning at how quickly she caved these days.

"Okay. Thank you." She smiled brightly, and I couldn't help but kiss her again.

"It's you and me, Max," I said as I turned around and stuck a hand out for him. He stopped his investigation of my office and ran over, taking my hand. As soon as we all stepped into the hall, he grabbed Bella's with his other hand and started swinging, taking advantage of the wide pathway and lack of foot traffic.

We hadn't made it very far before Jessica stepped around the corner and looked at the three of us with contempt, a watered down version of the sneer usually received from Lauren, before turning to Bella, voice laced with attitude. "Oh. You're here."

"Yeah?" Bella said, drawing out the word and trying to stay professional, but her arched eyebrow dared Jessica to step out of line.

"Well, I've been looking for you for days, but apparently not everybody needs to show up and put in a full eight hours."

Bella shook her head minutely, seemingly amused. "Yeah, that's the benefit of being salary and not hourly—not having to punch a clock. But then again, I don't get paid extra for putting in twelve to fourteen hour days like I have the past couple weeks. If you have an issue with where I do my work, perhaps you should take that up with Peter since it was his call for me to work from home. Now, did you have an actual problem or question that you needed to see me about?"

Jessica huffed at the challenge, and I wanted to wipe the sneer off of her face, but Bella was holding her ground beautifully. For a moment, I thought about taking Max away from the confrontation but he was still swinging, completely oblivious to the conversation taking place, and I didn't want to leave in case Jessica pushed things too far and I needed to step in.

"Well, one of my biggest clients needs tickets for a show, and I haven't been able to get them since you haven't shown up here in who knows how long."

Still not backing down, Bella didn't hesitate. "Let me know what show and which client and you'll have them before I leave here today. Of course, you could've had them at any time since Peter has access to my lockbox, as does Angela while I'm out, and I've still been connected via email and telephone. None of the other salespeople had an issue making requests, but I don't recall hearing from you before now or your client would not still be waiting. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

I could hear Jessica growl as the three of us stepped past her and continued on. I looked over at Bella to see if she was okay, and she was smiling from ear to ear, looking at Max and lifting him with her hand to help give him extra momentum for his swings. I was in complete awe, and so proud of her for putting Jessica in her place and not allowing it to get to her. She was completely unaffected.

Max and I left Bella at her office so she could get started on her backlog of work, and headed to my apartment. I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder as we wound our way through the halls, waving goodbyes to whoever we passed as they laughed at Max's peals of laughter over being unable to right himself.

Just a couple hours later, Max and I had thoroughly destroyed my living room, sending Bella into stunned silence when she walked in.

"What's the matter?" I asked when she still hadn't moved.

"What did you do?" she asked quietly, taking in the chaos.

It had seemed like a good idea, and I might have had more fun than I'd ever publically admit, but seeing her reaction, I started to get embarrassed and ran my hand through my hair, looking back into the room one more time before returning my eyes to her. "Um… we built a fort."

"I've never seen a fort that was quite so… elaborate," she said as she took tentative steps into the room to check out the structure from various angles. The project had evolved from a couple of blankets and couch cushions to every sheet and blanket I owned, all of the living room furniture, and the chairs from the kitchen, creating a maze in my apartment.

She finally started smiling, which turned into a chuckle by the time she looked back at me. "What am I going to do with the two of you? You clearly can't be trusted alone together."

"Just accept it and move on," I teased.

She moved closer to the main 'entrance' of the fort but before she could get too close, Max popped his head out. He threw his hands out in front of his body to stop her. "You can't come in. No girls allowed!"

She looked at me, completely fucking adorable at how offended she was. I simply shrugged and dropped to the ground. I glanced up at her and shrugged before crawling inside. "Rules are rules."

I sat down, feeling completely fucking ridiculous all of a sudden, and waited to see what her reaction would be. A quick look over at Max showed him with both hands covering his mouth, his eyes crinkled up in laughter. I brought my pointer finger up to my lips to tell him to keep quiet while I listened for movement, sure that she'd peek her head in at any moment.

Instead, I heard the sound of her shoes hitting the floor as she walked away from the fort. I turned my head slightly, trying to hear any other noises that would let me know what she was doing but heard nothing until the sound of my door opening and closing echoed through the room.

Then silence.

I waited a few moments and when she didn't return, I slowly moved to stick my head out of the makeshift door where I was immediately met with the click of a camera. Bella—who had apparently faked an exit— had her Blackberry out, snapping away as I struggled to get myself upright and away from the blanket/pillow/furniture structure.

She started laughing, never taking her eyes from the screen. "This is _so_ not flattering. I leak these, and no one will ever think you're sexy again."

I stalked closer to her, dropping my voice lower. "You think I'm sexy?"

She laughed. Yes, laughed. Bruise the ego a little more, why don't you?

"Not at the moment," she said as she flipped the phone around so that I could see the picture of me poking my head out, looking like a complete tool. Yeah, I needed to rectify that.

I stepped closer, right into that invisible bubble known as 'personal space', before she could process the movement. Her breath caught, whether due to my proximity or my stare, I didn't know and didn't really care, as I watched her eyes glaze over. I didn't break my gaze until the last possible second when I started to run my nose up the column of her neck, listening to her shaky breaths.

"How about now?" I whispered as I left teasing kisses along her skin, trying to find the spot under her ear that made her knees weak.

"Now?" Her voice was shaky, though she tried to appear calm.

"Now," I repeated. Her knees buckled slightly before she caught herself, and I grinned against her skin. Found it.

Before she could respond, I heard the rustle of fabric behind us. "Are you coming back, or what?" Max's voice shouted across the room, effectively shattering the moment. Bella and I both started to laugh at his impatience, and maybe at the fact that we'd both forgotten that he was in the room.

"I think it's about time to get this cleaned up," Bella told him as she moved away from me. I might have whined a little.

"Aww," Max griped. "But I was having fun."

Bella crouched down at the entrance of the fort where Max was sticking his head out, just like I had minutes earlier. "I know, but we have to start thinking about dinner."

Together, the three of us managed to make my living room look like a living room again, though I tried to protest and told her to leave it, I'd get it later.

Needing a change of scenery from Bella's kitchen, we ended up at a pizza place near my apartment. The premium coloring sheet placemats and complimentary pack of crayons apparently made this restaurant superior to any other pizzeria, according to Max. He covered nearly every square inch of his placemat before trading it out for Bella's so he could start over while she and I talked about everything we needed to do before the trip.

The week passed even more quickly than usual, and I couldn't complain about the minimal sleep I was getting each night. It seemed that once Bella's last wall had fallen, we couldn't keep our hands off of each other. Obviously, this was the first time I had been in any kind of a relationship where a kid was added to the mix, so I was surprised at how quickly we learned to work around Max's schedule. I'd managed to become a pro at learning when he was truly out for the night, rather than just dozing only to wake up for one more story, one last drink of water, or to insist that he had heard a noise. But once he hit that point, it was like Bella and I felt the urgent need to make up for all the time we had lost while we were trying to be discreet in his presence.

Friday morning, though, the mood had shifted. Bella woke up when the alarm went off, the feeling of melancholy evident. Though she had originally planned to drive, she decided on a whim a few nights earlier to check airfare and ended up booking tickets to fly Max into Port Angeles. She would fly with him, taking the next flight back to Seattle. It wasn't all that expensive, and the entire round trip for her would take about the same time as just the drive there. It was a no-brainer; she already had the flight to Vegas coming up in a few days—why would she want to bookend that trip with two long drives to her old hometown?

The downside was that she'd have to say goodbye to Max sooner. She hadn't said anything, but I knew that the idea of being away from him upset her. I took off early that afternoon, leaving the office only an hour or so after the on-air shift ended, so that I could drive them to the airport. It took a little convincing since she insisted there was no point in me making two trips when she could just park in short term parking. But there was a point; I knew that it wouldn't be easy for her to get on that plane to come back and that, by the time she landed back in Seattle, there was a good chance she wouldn't be in the best condition to drive. She put up a bit of a fight, but eventually relented, allowing me to drop them off in plenty of time to make their 2:30 pm flight.

She stood firm though and wouldn't allow me to come inside. Since they had no bags other than a backpack of toys for Max—she had gone so far as having already shipped a box of Max's things UPS so she wouldn't have to hassle with luggage—they would quickly check in and head through TSA screening, leaving no real time for us inside. So, I found myself dropping them off curbside. Max was excited about the flight, and I actually choked up a little when he hugged me tightly and said goodbye. I knew at that moment that I was right in insisting she let me drive, because if I was that affected, I couldn't imagine how she'd take it.

"I'll be back to get you at 6:30," I said as I pulled her into my arms, holding on to her like she was the one that would be leaving for a week. "Call or text as soon as the flight lands so that I know you're here."

Her head was buried in my neck and shoulder, and I could feel her nod against me and could hear her shaky breaths. From over her shoulder, I could see Max, hopping on and off of the curb, while he waited for us. Slowly, Bella pulled back, and the look in her eyes made me kick myself for not insisting that I fly with her.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," she said, the word punctuated with a sigh at the end. "I'll be fine."

With one hand behind my neck, she pulled me down to kiss her. It was soft and innocent, and exactly what she needed to find her strength. After a few more chaste pecks, I let her go, watching as she walked over to Max.

"Come on," she said, holding out her hand for him. "Time to go."

He took her hand, then immediately let go. "Wait!" He ran the few feet between us and wrapped his arms around my legs. "I'll miss you."

I bent down to pick him up, completely choked up again. "I'll miss you, too."

Eventually I had to let both of them go, watching until they were out of sight before I got back in the car and drove off. I had no idea what to do with my time and ended up back at my apartment trying to get a head start on packing for Vegas, just to distract me. I briefly entertained the idea of going back into work and finishing up the logs for next week, but I knew I wouldn't be able to focus. I was too preoccupied, wondering how my feelings had managed to grow so strongly and so quickly for both of them.

A couple hours later, Bella called me in tears. As much as I hated hearing her cry, I was so glad she called and let me try and comfort her. Once again, I kicked myself for not going with her. She said that the flight was fine, bumpy since it was just a little puddle-jumper, but fine. Max had talked non-stop, nose pressed to the window, and once they landed he was excited to see Charlie. He had teared up a little when they were saying their goodbyes, but quickly forgot about being sad that Bella was leaving once he was reminded that he was going fishing in the morning. Since then, she had been sitting in the terminal, crying, waiting for her flight home.

I paced nervously, repeatedly checking my watch as it slowly ticked its way toward 6:30. She had told me to just wait outside so I wouldn't have to pay for parking, but that was never going to happen. Even under the best of circumstances, I'd have wanted to be waiting for her inside, but after speaking to her on the phone, every minute counted even more.

My phone buzzed with a text message, and I scrambled to get it out of my pocket. She was here. All I had to do now was wait. My pacing picked up, but my steps would stop each time a new crowd of people appeared. I'd skim the faces and, disappointed, start moving again. Finally, _finally_, I saw her. Her head was down, she was barely paying attention to anything around her, so she didn't see me at first, giving me a chance to really look at her. Her shoulders were slumped, brow furrowed. As she neared, I could see the redness in her eyes and face where she had been crying. She looked up just as I reached out for her. We didn't speak. I gripped her tightly around the waist when she launched up at me, her arms locking tightly around my neck as I picked her up and moved her out of the line of foot traffic so that we wouldn't be bumped around.

I could hear her trying to stifle her crying, the whimpers giving her away almost as quickly as the tears that hit the skin on my neck. I just held her while she got it all out and calmed down, and eventually she pulled back.

"Thanks," she whispered as I wiped the tears that were still on her cheeks.

"For what?" I asked, since I hadn't really done anything.

She gave me a small smile. "Just… being here."

I leaned down to kiss her, though not as intensely as I'd have preferred since there was a steady flow of people moving around us. She seemed to be in better spirits when we broke apart, smiling a full smile this time before saying, "Let's go home."

She didn't react, and I wondered if she knew what she had said. Truth was that her house felt more like home than my apartment did. I spent more time there than I did my own place, and if I thought about it, it almost felt like I only had my place for appearances since we hadn't been together long. But I couldn't refute the fact that her house felt like "home" to me, and the way it had so casually slipped from her lips—"home," not "my house"—it seemed that she felt the same way about the time I spent there.

I pulled her tightly to my side as we started to walk out together, headed toward "home."


	20. Viva Las Vegas

**Thanks again for all of your wonderful reviews, the recs, alerts, etc. Thank you Beans and Shug for cleaning up my mistakes!**

**And if you're on Twitter, the wonderful nikkijoy10 will be hosting the #readalong on Saturday at 8PM Eastern featuring my other story, Empires of the Mind! If you have any questions, I'm probably not the person to go to since I'm still somewhat (mostly) inept... check out the thread on Twilighted (link on my profile!) and the ladies will be more than happy to fill ya in.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

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Chapter 20-BPOV

The pile of clothes on my bed continued to grow. Two days ago I had been bragging to anyone who would listen about being completely packed, save for a few personal items that I planned to toss into my bag after my last use before leaving for the airport on Wednesday. That was before I started second guessing everything and began ripping through my closet in a frenzy that would put Alice to shame.

I was muttering to myself, the words not making sense, even to me, so it didn't surprise me to see Edward watching me with a mixture of confusion and concern. "Baby, you okay?"

"No. No, I'm not okay. I have no idea what to wear for this fucking seminar, and I'm out of time to figure it out." I slumped down to the floor, head in my hands, defeated. Everyone knew it was serious when I started casually throwing f-bombs around. Not that I never cursed; I just did so sparingly that when I did let one fly, it had maximum impact.

Edward stepped cautiously into the closet and sat down, pulling me into his arms in an attempt to calm me down. At best, he managed to take a little bit of the edge off, but my mind was still racing with the various options I had to choose from and then mentally shooting each one down for one reason or another.

I jumped up and ran to find my phone, leaving him sitting there dumbfounded. As soon as I found it, I started pressing buttons and began speaking before Alice could get the word 'hello' out of her mouth. "I need help! I packed the black with the sparkly things, but I think it's too much. I want them to take me seriously. And all the experts say that navy blue is a power color, but I don't have anything in navy blue, so should I go buy something? But then again, I don't think navy blue is a good color for me, so maybe I should just stick with black. Will that be too boring or will it be professional? That's why I picked the sparkly one, but that's more appropriate for dinner. I want to look professional, but still feminine without looking matronly. Should I wear a pant suit instead? Or stick with a dress?"

I was word vomiting at a rate that I'd never experienced before, but thankfully Alice understood every word, being a fast-talker herself. "Calm down. Deep breaths. Forget the blue. Navy does nothing for your skin tone, no matter what the 'experts' say. You need a richer shade of blue to pull it off, so forget about it for the seminar. Black is classic, not boring. Wear the dress we got last month with those cute strappy shoes you picked up on sale at Bloomingdales. I have some jewelry that I'm packing as we speak that will complement the look while still looking professional."

I had run back to the closet while she was talking and pulled the dress out then rummaged for the shoes. "Okay, I have them."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and Alice chuckled. "See? Everything will be okay. Need anything else?"

"No, that was the extent of my panic attack," I said, now in a slightly better mood. We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone, walking over to the bed to add the dress to the partially packed garment bag. It took me a moment to remember that I wasn't alone, and when I looked up, Edward was grinning crookedly, amused now that the stress had passed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to freak out on you there." I could hear the embarrassment in my voice over having had a full-blown meltdown in front of him.

He walked closer, not taking his eyes off me while I tried to find a way to just be invisible and disappear. Once he was right in front of me, his hands went to the sides of my face, not allowing me to avoid looking at him. He dipped down to kiss me slowly. "All better now?"

"Much," I responded at barely more than a whisper.

He helped me get everything back into the closet—luckily I'd had the foresight to leave everything on hangers until the decision was made—and I quickly found myself packed and ready to go. We were taking my car and meeting everyone else at the airport so that once our return flight landed on Sunday, he and I could leave straight from long term parking to make the drive to pick up Max.

Even with my freak out, we managed to be the first of our crew to make it to Sea-Tac. We were just unloading our bags from the back when Emmett's SUV pulled into a spot a few spaces down from ours. Together, we all trekked inside, checked our bags, and navigated through the maze of TSA checks to get to our gate where the rest of our coworkers who were headed to this conference were waiting. We didn't have too much time to kill before the airline began the boarding process. One by one, we made our way onto the plane and found our seats.

"I call window," Alice announced as she flopped down and scooted to the seat in the row behind me and Edward.

"I thought she was afraid to fly?" Edward asked quietly.

I chuckled before explaining what might be Alice's most interesting quirk. "She's terrified of it." I raised myself up enough to look over the back of my seat at Alice with a grin to let her know we were talking about her. "Alice, here, hates to fly, but when she does, she has to have the window seat." I continued to look at Alice even though I was talking to Edward, amused by the narrowing of her eyes.

Jasper shook his head, laughing as he thought about Alice's fear and gave her a reassuring kiss to the temple. Edward furrowed his brow and turned around, looking at Alice in the space between our seats. "Wouldn't you want to _not_ see outside if you're afraid?"

Alice immediately launched into her oft repeated defense. "Sitting in the middle of the plane won't make me forget where I am and how far away from the ground we are. I need to be able to keep tabs on the pilot… make sure he's doing his job. With a window seat, I can randomly check to make sure that the ground isn't getting any closer before it's supposed to."

We all burst into laughter, and I could hear a few chuckles from other passengers as well. Edward just tipped his head to the side and shrugged. "I can't even begin to think of a response to that."

The flight took off on time and with only minor squeals of discomfort coming from the row behind us as each sharp bank to the left or right that the plane took to find its path caught Alice off-guard. We all fell into quiet, comfortable silence as the plane leveled off, passengers pulling out iPods, laptops, and portable DVD players once the announcement gave the all-clear to use electronic devices.

About an hour into the flight, I noticed Edward getting fidgety beside me as I continued reading my book. He didn't say anything, and I was quickly lost in the pages, again oblivious to everything around me. A sharp movement forced my elbow off of the armrest, jolting my entire body and nearly making me lose my place.

I looked over at Edward—I might've been glaring—but he continued to stare, disaffected, toward the front of the cabin. He didn't seem to notice me watching him, so after a moment, I went back to my book, settling my elbow back on a free space on the armrest.

I started to get wrapped up in the book again when I felt his elbow shift, nudging mine slightly. This time, I was prepared and held steady, not allowing him to move my arm. The pressure we were exerting slowly increased until we were in the middle of some strange alternative to arm wrestling, elbows pushing against each other in an attempt to dominate the armrest. The longer it continued, the harder it was to maintain an appearance of neutrality with grins threatening to emerge. He still wouldn't look at me from what I could tell in my peripheral view of him, so I decided I could be obstinate as well and refused to look away from my book.

"Stop touching me," I mumbled while trying to fight a smile.

"What?" he asked, voice dripping in faux innocence with a tinge of the laughter he was trying to hold back. "I'm not doing anything."

"Yes, you are," I responded, trying to sound stern. "Stop it."

"Nope." He wasn't even trying to hide the grin now.

With more force than I'd used yet, I actively tried to push his arm off of the armrest. Alice chose that moment to pop her head up over the back of our seats. "Lover's quarrel?"

"Territory dispute," I growled from the effort of trying to move his arm.

"Oh, no!" Alice gasped as she turned to Edward. "You did _not_ try and steal her armrest. Bella does not share armrests. You need to learn that quickly."

He laughed at the gravity in Alice's tone; she was completely serious. "You're really that picky over armrests?" he asked me, quirking an eyebrow in my direction.

"It's one of my pet peeves," I said with a sigh, finally giving up the fight. "I can't stand to share an armrest with someone. I don't know why. It's just some weird aversion I have. I don't want my arm to touch someone else's arm."

"Even mine?" he asked, amused by this revelation.

"Even yours," I answered determinedly. "I don't know what it is about armrests, but nobody is exempt."

"How about a compromise?" he offered as he moved his arm away and started pulling the armrest up. When I realized what his intentions were, I moved my arm away so that he could lift it between us. As soon as it was up, he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer. "Much better."

"I'm going to gag," I heard Alice grumble as she moved back to her seat. Edward and I both laughed, and I got comfortable, settling against him to continue my book.

The rest of the flight was smooth, the plane staying at the proper altitude at all times, to Alice's relief. Landing in Vegas was always an experience, feeling like the plane was aiming for the Strip rather than the airport runway. After deplaning, there was no way to deny where we were, with slot machines within our line of sight no matter where we stood inside the terminal.

We followed the signs to baggage claim, inundated with the noise of the thousands of travelers passing through. Our bags somehow managed to be among the first to come down the line, so we quickly headed out to grab a couple of cabs for the short trip to the Bellagio where the conference was being held. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at how pretentious the organizers could be, wanting only the best hotels and resorts to host their events, but I couldn't argue that I was excited to stay there. I was even more excited upon check in when I found out that our room had been upgraded to a suite by the conference organizers due to my participation.

Edward and I said goodbye to our friends on their floor as we ascended to the 32nd floor. We quickly found our room, and I was stunned into silence the moment the door opened. I took slow, tentative steps into the marble foyer. My eyes immediately scanned every new inch of the room that materialized as I moved closer. The neutral tones and clean lines gave a sense of calm that was in stark contrast to the persistent noise and bright lights of the Strip just outside. I moved to the bedroom, still in awe and only vaguely aware of Edward dropping our bags onto the floor. By the time I made it to the bathroom door, words found their way back. "Oh, I _really_ need to speak to someone about a remodel of my bathroom when we get back."

I ran the tips of my fingers of one hand across the Italian marble countertops and heard Edward chuckle behind me. I turned around to look at him, my cheeks hurting from the massive smile on my face, before I walked right past him then took off into a sprint to cover the last little bit of distance to the window. The large panes of glass framed the man-made lake in front of the resort for what I imagined would be a stellar view of the nightly fountain show. From this height, I could see the mechanisms lying dormant under the water, waiting for their big moment to grasp the fleeting attention spans of the weary gamblers shuffling from one casino to the next once the sun set. Beyond the lake, the Las Vegas Strip sat ready to be explored, the replica Eiffel Tower taking center stage in my line of sight.

I felt Edward move closer and closer until his body pressed against mine; his arms slipped around me, hands grazing my stomach on their journey to completely wrap around my waist.

"I don't think I want to leave this room," I said quietly, not taking my eyes off of the view.

His lips found my neck, making their way up to my ear where he murmured, "I like that idea."

My eyes closed involuntarily, and I was pretty sure I whimpered. I tilted my head back to rest on his shoulder as his lips and tongue continued to work against my skin. Slowly, one of his hands made its way to my chin, turning my head so that his mouth could assault mine. I turned my body slowly, the kiss deepening rather than breaking while I did so.

"How much time do we have?" he asked without fully breaking contact. His tongue slid against mine again, preventing me from answering right away.

"Couple hours," I mumbled before I felt his tongue again. When it retracted, I continued. "Everyone's supposed to relax, nap… whatever." I could feel him grin against my mouth at that last word. "You know, take it easy so that we can play tourist this evening."

"Plenty of time," he said before his tongue urged my mouth to open for him once more. Before I could react, he had me over his shoulder and was on the move, a high pitched squeal escaping my throat from the surprise. With one swift movement he had tossed me to the bed, watching me, eyes that of a predator, as my entire body bounced on the mattress before closing the distance by crawling onto the bed with me.

"So, this not leaving the room idea," he said, not taking his eyes from mine as he neared. "It has merit."

I could feel a smile tug at my face. "It does, but I just spent the past couple weeks trying to work up the nerve for this presentation. I'm not backing out now."

"Hmm," he hummed as he eyed me speculatively, his legs straddling mine as he sat back, effectively pinning me from the knees down. "Do you need to practice? I think I can help you out with that."

I continued to play along, curious as to where he was going with this. "What kind of help?"

"Well, I've had a public speaking class or two in my day. I learned a few things." He shifted slightly, and I ached for him to come closer.

"Like what?" I asked, hoping he'd get to the point and kiss me, touch me, anything. It wasn't until I met him that I realized just how starved my body was for affection.

"Let's see," he said thoughtfully as he moved again so that his entire body hovered over mine. Inches from my lips, he stopped, and I internally groaned at the tease. "It's important to know what will keep your audience's attention focused solely on you."

Before I could respond, a hand slipped under my shirt and lightly swept across my stomach. I took a shuddering breath, and he grinned smugly before shifting yet again to balance his weight on his knees so that he could add a second hand and slowly—oh so slowly—push my shirt up to expose the skin beneath. I lifted my torso just enough to allow him to remove the shirt entirely, his lips falling to the skin just above my jeans as I landed back on the mattress.

"Lesson two," his voice rumbled as his mouth left a trail of wet kisses upward. With deliberate intent, he bypassed my breasts but moved slowly enough that I could feel the moist heat of his breath through the lace of my bra, teasing me deliciously before starting again at my collarbone. It wasn't until he had made it to just under my ear that he finished his thought. "There's a certain amount of truth to the old tip to imagine your audience in their underwear."

I felt his fingers dexterously release the button on my jeans and slide the zipper so slowly that I could feel the vibration of each tooth against my abdomen as it was freed

My breath caught in my throat and he continued. "Me, though? Well, my imagination isn't nearly as good as the real thing."

I couldn't take the slow torture any longer. "Edward?"

"Yeah?" he asked after my jeans had slipped off of my feet, leaving me in just my bra and panties.

I waited until he hovered over me once again, face inches from mine. "Shut up."

He laughed, his crooked grin coaxing a smirk from me. "Thank God," he said, heaving a sigh. "I had no idea where to go with that next."

We both laughed, and I asked, "No idea?"

"Well, I know exactly where I was going next. I was just too distracted to be creative enough to tie it to public speaking."

We spent the next who knows how long making sure that the perfectly tucked corners of the sheets were thoroughly destroyed. With this economy, we were only doing our part to help housekeeping maintain job security.

I woke up some time later to the sound of the telephone on the nightstand ringing, unaware that we had even fallen asleep. Edward made an odd grunting sound in his sleep, annoyed at the interruption as evidenced by the furrow of his brow, but he didn't wake. The ringing stopped before I could fully process it, so I relaxed back into him, smiling at the observation that our bodies were just as tangled as the sheets. He instinctively pulled me closer as I snuggled in.

Just as I got comfortable, the ringing started again. With a sigh, I rolled and stretched my arm to answer.

"Hello?" My voice crackled from lack of use and my eyes squinted even though the light was dim.

"Interrupting something?" Alice asked mischievously.

"Yeah, a nap," I answered shortly. I pulled the sheet up around my chest, suddenly very aware that the drapes were wide open, and while it offered a wonderful view of the Strip from the room, the Strip didn't need a view _into_ the room.

I listened as she filled me in on the tentative plans to check out the other hotels and casinos, my input mostly unnecessary. Edward stirred and his brow tightened grumpily, probably from overhearing the news that we'd be leaving the room soon, and he scooted closer, threw an arm across my legs, and laid his head in my lap. With the hand not holding the phone to my ear, I threaded my fingers through his hair in repetitive motions. He hummed his appreciation as I tried to convince Alice that the sooner she stopped talking to me, the sooner I could get ready.

After I hung up the phone, neither of us moved for a while. Minutes later, Edward mumbled, "How much time do we have?"

"About thirty minutes," I answered, and a small grumble of discontent escaped his throat. I laughed then added, "But if we ignore the phones, we have as long as we want. She can't come up to the room and bang on the door if we aren't in the lobby on time since she doesn't have a keycard to activate the elevators for this floor."

I heard his chuckle, feeling the vibrations from his chest on my thigh. "I like the way you think."

I continued to run my hand through his hair, ignoring the overpriced view outside the window in favor of the significantly more beautiful one right in front of me, the one holding onto me so I couldn't move from under him. Eventually, I gathered up the motivation to head to the shower and laughed when his arm tightened across my legs as I tried to get up.

"Let go," I quietly urged.

"Huh uh," he responded.

"Come on, I have to shower."

"Okay, I'll shower with you," he said, his voice perking up.

"Not gonna happen," I said with a laugh. "You follow me in there and we really will take more than thirty minutes, and Alice will find a way to sweet talk her way onto this floor. You might not have learned this about her yet, but she's crafty, and devious, and has a way of getting what she wants."

He huffed and rolled onto his back, letting me go. "Fine. Later, though."

"Later," I conceded and smiled at the grin my response elicited. He balled my pillow up and stuffed it under his cheek as he rolled back onto his stomach and I headed into the bathroom. I quickly ran a brush through my tangled hair, before twisting it up and clipping it so that I could shower without getting it wet. Ten minutes later, I was standing at the counter, plugging in my flat iron which I promptly dropped, the sound of the crash echoing on the marble when Edward sauntered right past, shamelessly bare with a smirk as he watched me out of the corner of his eye, and headed into the shower I'd just vacated.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, trying in vain to calm my racing heart. Opening my eyes again, I focused on the reflection in the mirror, trying hard to concentrate on getting ready. The effort was immense, but I managed to flat iron the rat's nest that was my hair to get it under control and give the illusion that I had actually made an attempt to look decent. I reached for a couple bobby pins to pull my bangs back then brushed the rest into a high ponytail, figuring that once we were out in the desert heat, I wouldn't want my hair hanging down, making me warmer. Whoever decided on Vegas in June clearly hadn't thought it through.

Walking back out in the bedroom, I quickly found my bag and rummaged until I found a lightweight skirt and top, again taking the temperature outside into consideration. I was just slipping my sandals on when I heard the shower shut off, and moments later Edward joined me in the bedroom, one towel wrapped around his waist while running a second over his hair.

"Ready?" he asked while I attempted to compose myself and pretend that I wasn't staring unabashedly at the lean definition of his muscles.

"Almost," I mumbled as I stood.

He flung the towel that had been drying his hair over a shoulder before reaching out, gently tugging me closer by my wrist. His kissed me softly before letting me go. "I'll just be a few minutes."

I nodded and returned to the bathroom so that I could put on some makeup, just a light layer considering anything more would simply melt within the first ten minutes outside. By the time I was done, he was dressed and putting his shoes on, his hair still a little damp and slightly wild from running his hands through it rather than using a hairbrush.

We made our way, hand in hand, to the predetermined meeting spot, seeing only Alice and Jasper.

"About time," Alice called out with her hands in the air.

"Don't listen to her," Jasper interrupted. "We just got here not even two minutes ago."

Alice whipped an arm out to hit him in the stomach with the back of her hand without even looking. A light "oof" escaped his mouth at impact. Alice's attention was drawn to something behind us, and I turned around to see Rosalie and Emmett heading our way.

"What's the plan," Emmett asked once he was close enough. "I need food."

"I made reservations before we left the room," Alice assured him. "I figured we could eat first and then decide what to do with the rest of the night."

Everyone quickly assented to her plan and headed toward the restaurant, chatting about all the options we had for the evening.

"Do you guys want to go to a club or a show or anything?" Rosalie asked, trying to narrow down our options.

"I'm not sitting through any Circus Olé shit," Emmett argued, silencing the group.

"What did you just say?" I asked slowly, unsure I'd heard him correctly. It was pretty noisy with all of the people in the halls, and I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"What? Circus Olé?" he asked, confused.

Everyone was silent for a beat before raucous laughter echoed off the walls around us.

"What?" he asked, looking from person to person, trying to figure out what he'd missed. "What'd I say?"

"It's Cirque Du Soleil, jackass," Rosalie cackled while wrapping her arms around his neck to soften the blow of her words.

Not one to embarrass easily, Emmett simply shrugged and said, "Close enough."

Dinner was eventful, filled with so much lightheartedness and fun as well as good food. Alice and I started reminiscing about our past visits to Vegas and began sharing stories about the impromptu cheap trip we took in college after a particularly stressful set of midterms.

"Remember that bartender?" Alice said, laughing. "The one that wouldn't let us leave?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed, remembering exactly what she was referring to. "The one that started randomly telling us his life story?"

"Yes!" she cried out. "I thought bartenders were supposed to _listen_. No, this guy wouldn't shut up. I could write his freaking biography after that night. I really don't care what you and your friends did when you were thirteen, buddy!"

"And then the bartender from the other section came over to ask him something and we tried to sneak out while his back was turned," I continued, laughing harder at the memory of Alice and I tiptoeing away from the bar.

"We were so close!" she yelled. "Made it all the way to the door before he noticed."

This conversation seemed to remind everyone else of stories they had from their own Vegas trips before we were all friends, and dinner was filled with laughter—often hysterical laughter. Emmett in particular had us in tears talking about his first trip with his friends after he turned twenty-one, when he made the mistake of taking one of the cards for escorts from one of the men lined up out on the Strip—out of curiosity and on a dare, he claimed, though I don't think anyone bought it—and, as if there was some sort of Bat-Signal that went out, for the next two blocks, he was practically attacked to take more by everybody he passed.

The waiter stopped by to see if we needed anything else before leaving the bill on the table. I slipped the company credit card into the folder, and after the payment was processed and tip calculated, we headed out to see what the city had to offer.

For a few hours, we investigated the various casinos close to the Bellagio, stopping in the occasional shop, playing a few hands at the tables, or dropping coins in the machines. It was all done with a freshly refilled drink in hand, making me more than slightly tipsy—something I hadn't allowed myself to do in quite some time—and we were just getting started. At some point, somebody—I wasn't sure who—decided we should head to the end of the Strip and check out the casinos there, working our way back down until we returned to home base. A rather comical debate ensued where the advantages and disadvantages of cabs versus the monorail were discussed.

An agreement was reached, deciding that since we were near a monorail station, would we catch that to the stop at the MGM Grand and take cabs for the return trip if were tired out before making it back to the Bellagio on foot. We ducked into the Imperial Palace, snaking our way through the casino to get to the station in back. I clung to Edward, the combination of alcohol and tired feet from the kitten heels on my shoes demanding the extra support. I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings until I heard Jasper speak.

"Um, I know we've been drinking, but I don't think my tolerance is that low… but… is Stevie Wonder dealing cards?"

We all slowed down, almost coming to a full stop, as we followed his gaze to the center of the casino where, sure enough, Stevie Wonder _was_ dealing cards. We all burst into hysterics, and I caught sight of the sign overhead for the 'Dealertainers' just as Rosalie pointed it out to everyone. Now that we were paying attention, we could see a number of celebrity look-alikes manning the tables in the center of the room: Cher, Madonna, and, of course, Elvis, to name a few.

Our laughter continued until we made it to the station and hopped aboard the next train to the MGM Grand where we picked up a couple more drinks before moving on, ending up at Mandalay Bay and heading into one of the night clubs that grabbed our attention.

The lights pulsed and the music thumped as we found our way out onto the dance floor. Drinks were abundant, and I felt the haze wash over me. Though the watered down freebie drinks we'd picked up while playing in the casinos had given me a bit of a buzz, these full-powered ones rushed my system. A confidence I'd never felt before manifested itself on the dance floor as I shamelessly moved against Edward's body without a second thought. Sweat covered my skin, and I was unsure how much of it had to do with the tightly packed bodies and simple exertion from dancing and how much had to do with the all-consuming need to be with Edward.

Eventually, we left the floor and found Rosalie and Emmett snuggled together, somehow having managed to commandeer a table in the packed nightclub.

"I'm going to go get more drinks, stay right here," Edward yelled into my ear so that I'd hear over the noise. I nodded, and he squeezed my hand once before walking away. I took Emmett's seat next to Rosalie when he stood to walk with Edward to the bar.

"Having fun?" Rosalie asked with a smirk and a wink.

I tried to suppress a grin and nodded while I pulled my ponytail to one side and used my free hand to fan the back of my neck, feeling thankful that I'd had the foresight to pull my hair up for the night. I looked around, taking in everything going on around us when I spotted Alice and Jasper. Most people had trouble with stability while drinking, but Alice somehow defied logic and became even lighter on her feet. Though the bodies of strangers were constantly bumping into them, the way they looked at each other was as if nobody else was in the room. While others around them were in similar states, locked in the gaze of their partner, there was so much more than simply carnal lust and need in the way Alice and Jasper looked at each other. It ran so much deeper and significantly more intimate than the debauched thoughts on display of the strangers around them. I felt like more of a voyeur watching them than any of the people who were only a few layers of clothing away from sex on the dance floor.

"You look like that too," Rosalie said into my ear, catching me off guard.

"What?" I asked when I turned to look at her.

She didn't say anything at first, just tipped her head in Alice and Jasper's direction, as if she'd somehow heard my earlier thoughts about them.

"That's what you two looked like out there," she explained. "Completely oblivious to the world going on around you. Only caring about the person right in front of you…"

The way she trailed off sounded like she wanted to elaborate further, but she stopped herself for some reason. We were quiet for the longest time, Rosalie giving me time to think about her words. Edward and Emmett returned a short while later, drinks in hand. Edward sat down next to me, placing the drinks on the table in front before pulling out the two bottles of water that he had tucked under his arm.

"Thought you might like to take care of actual thirst before worrying about maintaining a buzz," he explained as he uncapped a bottle and handed it to me.

The small gesture made me smile as I leaned closer. "You take such good care of me."

"I'll always take care of you," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and I leaned over to place a soft kiss on his lips to show my gratitude.

"Damn, easy on the PDA there, Jelly Belly," Emmett called out over the deafening sounds of the club. I turned to glare at him, wondering how I could get him to retire that name for good. I owed him payback for a number of things now—the nickname, the strip club commercial, just being Emmett—and I needed to figure out something big.

For now, though, I only had one response. "Stop calling me that!"

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**A/N: Well, they finally made it to Vegas. Wonder what's in store for them? Just an FYI, this conference is COMPLETELY fictional. I try to put a lot of real life radio/live entertainment stuff into the story, but this part was crafted to suit my own purposes.**

**Teasers go out in response to reviews, as always!**

**And don't forget the Twitter #readalong on the 27th at 8PM! I just posted Chapter 4 of Empires of the Mind if you want to get caught up and haven't already checked it out. **


	21. What Happens in Vegas

**As always, huge thanks to my betas, Beans827 and Shug!  
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**EPOV**

I could hear singing somewhere through the fog in my head left behind by the copious amounts of alcohol imbibed the night before. Hmm, apparently the after-effects of alcohol consumption made my internal monologue speak like a pretentious asshole.

"Well you know that it's going to be all right…"

What the fuck?

"I think it's gonna be all right…"

No, really. What the fuck?

"Everything will always be all right, when we go shopping."

Slowly, I tried to pinpoint the source of the singing, my hearing growing progressively sharper by the second, and eventually I realized it was Bella's phone and the music that had interrupted my sleep was actually Barenaked Ladies, letting us know that Alice was demanding our attention.

The song stopped, and I dropped my head back onto the pillow. As tired as I was, it would've only taken seconds to fall back asleep, but the phone started ringing again just moments later. Bella hadn't moved an inch and showed no signs of acknowledging that her persistent best friend was trying to get a hold of her. I nudged her, and she still didn't move. I nudged again and whispered her name into her ear. The only response I got was an odd grunt and her hand reaching blindly behind her to swat me away. I would've laughed and teased her about it if I wasn't half-conscious and barely able to function. I tried a third time and still earned no response, so I stumbled out of bed to search for the phone that was now on its third call.

I followed the sound of the ringtone until I found the phone in the living room of the suite. Just before Alice's call was sent to voicemail yet again, I answered. "Alice?"

"Get down here, immediately," she barked into the phone.

"What?" I asked, trying to remember if we had plans, certain that we'd decided to take it easy in the morning since we'd overindulged the night before and the welcome reception for the conference wasn't until this evening. "What are you talking about? We're still sleeping."

"Well, wake your asses up and get to Emmett and Rosalie's room, pronto. They just, they, they're…" She kept stuttering her words, and I heard her cover the mouthpiece and mutter something inaudible to somebody in the room. When she moved her hand away, I could clearly hear Emmett and Rosalie arguing.

"We'll be down," I said quickly before disconnecting the call and running back into the bedroom. "Wake up," I said as I nudged Bella with more force than I'd used earlier.

"Don't wanna," she mumbled and buried her face in the pillow.

I laughed and pulled the pillow out from under her head then laughed harder as her head thumped to the mattress and stayed there. She made no attempt to move so I rolled her over onto her back, her only reaction was to cover her eyes with her forearm.

"Come on," I urged. "Alice just called and said we have to get downstairs. Emmett and Rosalie are fighting or something."

She moved her arm just enough to look at me through squinted eyelids for a second before sitting up and scrambling out of bed. "I'm up."

We both rushed around the room, grabbing clean clothes and getting dressed as fast as we could. After fighting for counter space to brush teeth, Bella quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail and we headed out of the room, grabbing only the keycard to get back in.

The elevator seemed to take forever, but we eventually made it to the right floor, searching for and quickly finding the correct room. I had been expecting a blow out, something the neighbors would be calling security over, but the hall was surprisingly quiet. Bella knocked on the door and in seconds, Alice swung it open, pulling us inside in one swift motion. I looked around, trying to piece together what was going on. Jasper and Alice appeared to be standing along the sidelines, watching as Emmett and Rosalie occupied themselves in a stare down. More accurately, Rosalie maintained an arched eyebrow, as if daring Emmett to speak, while Emmett seemed apologetic and searching for words that would dig him out of whatever hole he was currently residing in.

"What's going on?" I whispered, though with the silence that filled the room, I may as well have been screaming the words.

"We could hear them arguing from next door," Jasper said quietly. "We came over and it seems—"

"It seems," Rosalie spat out while continuing to glare at Emmett. "It seems that _this_ happened last night"—Rosalie held her left hand up in the air, a simple gold band featured prominently—"and somebody flipped his shit when he woke up this morning."

Bella made an odd choking noise as her hands came up to cover her mouth, her eyes wide as she looked at Rosalie.

"It just—" Emmett started to explain before Rosalie's flipped her hand around, moving it from showing us her ring to nonverbally telling Emmett to shut up. He did, but only for a second before he soldiered on. "It just caught me by surprise. I'm not opposed to the idea—"

Rosalie scoffed and folded her arms over her chest. "What every girl wants to hear. That her boyfriend isn't _opposed_ to the idea."

"Will you let me finish?" Emmett pleaded with her, riding the line between apologetic and frustrated. "It's just something I'd like to actually remember doing. I would have preferred it to have been a conscious decision."

By now, Bella had her face buried in my arm, shaking as she peeked at the scene in front of us with one eye. I looked down at her, perplexed, and sure enough she was struggling not to laugh. I watched her try to compose herself as Rosalie and Emmett continued to argue, not paying attention to what they were saying. Once she had quelled the laughter, she waited for an opening so she could begin speaking.

"Okay, obviously this isn't how either of you imagined this happening. Why don't you see about getting it annulled so you can start from scratch? Do you even know that it's legal? If neither of you remember it, are you sure that it's binding?"

Emmett reached behind him and pulled a sheet of paper off of the desk. "According to this, it's legal."

Bella's body shook with another laugh which she quickly stifled. "Who was the judge, or minister… or Elvis impersonator who performed the ceremony? Maybe you can track him down just to make sure."

Jasper, Alice, and I all snorted in an attempt to not laugh out loud at Bella's words, trying not to draw attention to ourselves and failing miserably.

"Why would we have this if it wasn't—" Emmett started but was interrupted by Bella.

"Just look. It can't hurt to find out who signed off on it and make sure everything's legit, right?"

He looked at her for a moment before shrugging in defeat and looked down at the paper, his eyes skimming, trying to find the name. "The Honorable Judge—"

His eyes shot up to Bella, and at that point, Rosalie turned her back to all of us and snorted. Bella pressed her lips together tightly, but couldn't stop shaking. Alice, Jasper, and I just looked around trying to figure out what we had missed.

"What?" Alice asked, frustrated. "What does it say?"

Emmett slammed the paper back on desk, not taking his eyes off of Bella but answering Alice's query. "The Honorable Judge Jelly Belly."

Bella and Rosalie were now both doubled over in laughter, taking steps closer to one another so they could hang onto each other to stay upright while laughing and speaking back and forth in high pitched, choppy phrases that only they understood.

Emmett attempted to look pissed but traces of humor were starting to peek through, while Alice, Jasper, and I started to laugh after piecing together what had happened.

After taking a few minutes to gather ourselves, Bella threw herself down onto the couch, beaming with pride at what she had managed to pull off. Emmett looked at her with his arms crossed in an attempt to appear menacing, but had a half-smile on his face and was shaking his head. "I can't believe you did that."

"Oh, come on," Bella responded. "I owed you huge. You were long overdue for a good prank. And are you finally ready to retire that nickname?"

"I think you just took all the fun out of that name," he said with a pout as he looked down at the fake certificate.

I walked over to sit beside Bella and asked, "How… when did you do this?"

She looked at me with a guilty expression. "Remember when you woke up and I was just crawling into bed and I told you that I hadn't been able to sleep so I was in the living room, looking out the window at the Strip?"

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"I had actually been out with Rosalie, getting everything together. She texted me to let me know that Emmett had passed out, and she ran out to find two cheap rings at a gift shop that was open while I sat in the Business Center and made the fake certificate."

"It was all her idea," Rosalie added from the edge of the bed, wiping away tears. "Fucking brilliant."

"I… I… I can't top that. You win. I'll never be able to outdo this one," Emmett said, completely in awe.

Bella ignored his declaration, instead yelling at him. "I can't believe you were so horrified at the idea of being married to her!"

She was still laughing, as was Rosalie when she interjected, "I know! If his reaction wasn't so funny, I'd be offended."

"I told you, I was just surprised. It caught me off guard," he defended. "I wasn't pissed. It's actually not a bad idea. We can go while we're here, do it for real."

He grew more and more excited at the idea and Rosalie rolled her eyes at him. "That's not happening."

"What, now you're the one with an aversion to getting married?" Emmett accused.

"No," she responded matter-of-factly. "I just refuse to get married in response to a prank." She turned to Bella and arched an eyebrow. "No offense, but I'm not letting you take the credit for me getting married."

Bella laughed. "Oh, I'm _so_ taking credit—whenever it happens. The idea's planted in his head now."

After the intensity of the morning began to fade, we decided to head out for breakfast since we were all up anyway. Everyone headed back to their rooms for wallets, purses, and to freshen up before meeting downstairs. Most of the meal was spent reliving the events of the morning, everything much funnier now that we were all in on the joke.

After relaxing the rest of the day, catching up on missed sleep, we spent the evening at the welcome reception hosted by the conference organizers. I knew quite a few people there—and knew _of_ many more—but it seemed like Bella knew just about everybody and everybody knew her. She'd blush madly every time someone came up to her to let her know how excited they were for her presentation while I just watched on proudly. A few were obviously just being polite, but judging by how many people began lobbing questions at her, forcing her to insist it would be brought up in the presentation, there was a significant amount of interest in what my girl had to say.

She introduced me to a number of industry bigwigs that I'd heard of but had never met, always having dealt with regional representatives instead. As the night wore on, I recalled Peter's words about the company hopefully recognizing Bella's work, and I realized just how much corporate had cheated her of what she deserved. Judging by everything I'd heard throughout the evening, she was already a major player in the industry, and even without the title to signify it, people respected her and looked to her as a leader, somebody to watch and learn from, an innovator. Even some of the biggest names in live entertainment respected her opinions, seeking them out because they were truly interested in her perspective.

The evening came to a close, and we spent a couple hours in the casino before calling it a night around midnight—two hundred dollars up, thanks to a lucky streak at the Blackjack tables—since we had to be up early for our first seminars. I laid in bed in the morning, listening to Bella move through the room getting ready, thankful that, as a guy, I only needed about ten minutes after my shower to get ready. Even a girl as low maintenance as Bella still had a hundred things to accomplish to get ready, it seemed.

I ordered room service for the two of us before I hopped into the shower, and by the time I was finished getting ready and Bella was digging through her bag for shoes, the food was here. She and I weren't attending any of the same seminars, so once we made it downstairs, we headed off into separate directions. Her presentation wasn't until the next day, and the full day she had ahead of her seemed to keep her mind off of everything, not allowing a free moment for the nervousness to get to her.

We broke for lunch at different times so, other than the five minutes I got to see her before heading off to my afternoon seminars, I hadn't had a chance to talk to her to see how things were going. At four, I was finally done for the day and couldn't wait to get back to the room to see her, knowing her last seminar was supposed to be over a half hour earlier. It took a few minutes, but I managed to sneak away from the room filled with syndicators trying to work connections and find their next project.

I was walking through a busy hall full of tourists, cameras at the ready for sightseeing, when I noticed a small crowd ahead. As I got closer, I stopped dead in my tracks when I realized that Bella was standing in the middle, arguing with some asshole who had been talking throughout my entire morning seminar, not paying any attention to anything that had been said. It only took a second for the surprise to wear off and I was moving again.

At first, the crowd wouldn't let me through, and I wished that Emmett and Jasper hadn't had a different seminar to attend that afternoon so they could help clear a path. I tried to simultaneously push through and listen to what was being said.

"Don't you dare," Bella spit out venomously. "You and I both know that you have no case. It'll be a waste of time and money for you to pursue it. You won't get a penny from me."

"We'll see about that," the asshole responded with a smug smile as I slowly made my way closer. I took another look at him, trying to figure out how she knew him. He was significantly taller than her, but still a little shorter than me, with dark hair, and a vague familiarity in his features. "You know what it'll take for me to drop it, so either pay up or I give my lawyer the green light."

"Go ahead. You signed away your rights—you have no claim to him or the money." Bella's words caused me to stop again as the realization hit over who she was speaking to: Max's father.

I pushed my way forward with even more force, ignoring the grumbles of complaint, and was by her side in seconds. It was then that I realized just how close the two were standing to each other, as if they'd been inching closer to gain an advantage, both refusing to be the one to back away first.

"There are always loopholes, Bella," he said, arms crossed and leaning over, trying to intimidate her, but it didn't faze her. "Nothing is airtight."

"Bella?" I said quietly, trying to get her attention, wanting to get her out of there, and I placed my hand on the back of her arm. She startled and turned to look at me, her features softening, washing over with relief, when she realized I was standing there. She took a moment and looked around, her face paling when she realized how many people were watching.

"Edward." She sighed my name, but she was interrupted before she could say anything further.

"New boyfriend?" the asshole asked with a humorless chuckle. "Better watch out before she gets desperate and tries to trap you, too."

I saw red and instinctively pulled my fist back, ready to lunge at him. Bella noticed the movement and immediately put her hands on my chest and tried to push me backwards, placing herself between me and him. I looked down to see her looking up, eyes pleading. "Please don't. Don't give him anything to hold over my head. Please?"

The only thing that stopped me from throwing the punch was the look of absolute desperation on her face. I could feel the pressure from her hands as she tried to force me backwards, to create distance in an attempt to halt the confrontation. I took two steps backwards, not taking my eyes from her. She looked at me for a moment longer, assessing me, trying to make sure I wouldn't act, before she turned back to him. Her body tensed again, ready for a fight, and her tone grew colder.

"You drop whatever delusion you've convinced yourself will happen. You don't scare me. Your threats are just that—threats. Empty threats, at that. No court will ever rule in your favor, and I know that you know this. You need me to believe otherwise so that I'll buy you off. It won't happen, so give it up. Now."

She turned to walk away, refusing to look at anyone, including me. She pushed her way through the crowd that had grown even more in the short time that I'd been there as the asshole tried to get the last word, yelling behind her, "We'll see about that."

"He's a child, not a fucking lottery ticket," she called out through the crowd of people, quite a few of them cheering at her words.

I was torn, wanting to go back and rip him apart, limb from limb, but she was my priority so I followed. As soon as we made it through the crowd and halfway down the hall, I watched security rush past us toward the crowd and rolled my eyes. They sure were on top on things here, I thought sarcastically.

"Bella?" I called from behind her. She didn't turn around, simply held one hand in the air to tell me to stop. Her head remained ducked down, and she wrapped both of her arms around herself protectively.

I jogged a few steps to catch up so that I could get closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Bella, please."

Her hand went up again, she shrugged away from my touch, and she shook her head frantically, not moving it from its ducked position due to her watching the floor rather than anything around her. She didn't even appear to be breathing, except for the occasional quiet gasp for air.

I stayed silent, walking directly behind her, running my hands through my hair in frustration. I replayed everything in my head and still wanted to rip the fucker's head off. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't speak to me though. Had something happened before I showed up? Was she angry that she had to stop me from hitting him? Shit, that was probably it. She was pissed that she had to stop her train of thought to break up a fight before it started.

We wound our way through the casino while I tried to figure out how to make things better, how to fix things. We made it to the elevator, and she pushed the up button a few times with her thumb before crossing her arms in front of herself once again.

"Bella?" I tried one more time. She didn't take her eyes off of the numbers above the bank of elevators, trying to figure out which would open for us, but she shook her head again to let me know that she heard me but wasn't going to respond.

Finally, one of the cars opened, and she stepped inside first while I followed right behind. She still wouldn't look at me, instead punching the button for our floor and staring at the panel. My hand was once again running through my hair, and I was caught off-guard when the door closed, leaving us alone inside, and she turned quickly and launched herself at me.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't… I just…" Her arms were wrapped around my neck, and after the initial shock wore off, I held onto her just as tightly, lifting her feet from the ground, relief washing over me while she tried to find words through her sobs. "I didn't know if he was behind us, and he has friends here and I didn't know if they were close by. I didn't want any of them to see me break down, and if I would've allowed you to speak or to touch me, I would have lost it. I couldn't let him know that he upset me this much."

"Shh," I tried calming her, running my hands up and down her back in a soothing motion while she kept chanting her apologies. "It's okay, baby. I'm not mad. I was just worried. Stop apologizing. It's okay. You're okay."

When the elevator re-opened on our floor, I led her to the room and let her cry it out. I wanted to know what the hell had happened, but she needed time to purge her emotions before she could even begin to think about talking to me.

About a half an hour later, she was finally mostly silent. Her breath would hitch on occasion, but the tears had stopped. We were both lying on the bed, still in our dress clothes, on top of the comforter. We hadn't even taken off our shoes. She simply laid there on her side, facing me, getting everything out, while I tried my best to comfort her.

"I guess you want to know what that was all about." She wiped at her eyes, but the tears had dried some time ago and even when they were falling, I had been wiping them away as they hit her cheeks. She looked at me, waiting for my response. Her words weren't angry, accusing, or negative at all, instead sounding more like she was resolving herself to tell me what had happened.

"Only if you want to tell me," I assured her. "Of course I want to know. Anything that hurts you like this, I want to be able to fix, but only if you want me to know."

She nodded slightly and started playing with the buttons on my shirt. "There really isn't anything to fix. It's over. At least, I hope it is."

I waited in silence, giving her the time she needed. It took a minute, but she continued. "That was my ex, Chad. Max's—"

"I know," I interrupted her when she seemed hesitant to finish the thought. I couldn't blame her for not wanting to verbalize the association between a child as sweet, innocent, and wonderful as Max and someone so hateful and vile.

"When I told you the story about what happened back then, I didn't tell you everything." She looked up into my eyes then to gauge my reaction, trying to figure out whether or not I was angry that she had withheld information, so I tried not to show anything other than concern and patience. Sure, I didn't like that there was something big that I didn't know, but I didn't blame her. We hadn't known each other for long when she told her story; I couldn't expect her to lay everything out. Satisfied that I was okay, she continued. "There was a lawsuit. There were a total of six other women, that were involved in this suit at least, that ended up pregnant due to the pharmaceutical company's _oversight_."

I remembered her saying that she found out that her birth control pills were defective, the active ingredients omitted from the pills, and I didn't know why I hadn't considered that there would be a lawsuit attached to that, especially growing up the son of a doctor, well aware of how often those companies were sued.

I didn't interrupt, letting her get the words out. "There were many more women included in the suit that had prescriptions filled from the faulty batch, but it was the seven of us that ended up with the largest chunk of the settlement. It settled in mediation. I think the pharmaceutical company knew they wouldn't win and it was likely that a jury would nail them even harder than a mediator with punitive damages. Even after the attorneys took their cuts, there was a lot of money to go around."

"He wants the money," I said as everything started to come together. The asshole found out about the money and was threatening to fight for custody if she didn't give it to him.

She nodded, still playing with buttons. "I don't know how he found out. Part of the deal when we settled was that the details were to remain confidential. We weren't allowed to discuss any of it. I don't think he knows all of the specifics or he'd be asking for a lot more."

"What is he asking for?" I asked her.

"Quarter of a million," she said, and I was pretty sure I stopped breathing. Fuck, if he was asking for that and she was saying he'd be asking for more if he knew how much her cut was, I couldn't imagine what she her portion of the settlement was. "He seems to think that he's entitled to it since the mistake 'affected' him, too, since he didn't want a kid with me. Yeah, like those few weeks of slandering me and fighting with me really changed the course of his life."

She rolled her eyes and laughed humorlessly. I couldn't believe the audacity of this guy, and more than ever I wondered why Bella put up with someone like that in her life. Then again, had things happened differently, there would be no Max. I couldn't help but have mixed feelings. He took for granted and wasted the opportunity to be a part of Max and Bella's lives forever—I hated him for hurting her, but part of me wanted to thank him for being such a waste of humanity and simply walking away, leaving a space for me to be a part of their lives. With each day, the need grew stronger and stronger, and I knew I wanted that space to belong to me permanently.

While sorting through my thoughts, Bella continued speaking. "It's not like I even want the money. I haven't spent a penny of it except for the house. It feels wrong somehow, that I sued somebody for giving me the greatest gift I never could've dreamed of having, for something I don't regret in the least. I might regret the circumstances surrounding, but I'll never regret Max."

"Of course you don't," I said as I moved closer to kiss her. She seemed better now that she was getting all of this off her chest. She melted into my arms, resting her head on my chest as I ran my hand up and down her spine. "Do you think he's really going to try to fight for custody?"

It was my most immediate concern. Max didn't need someone like that in his life, especially if he was just being used as a means to an end for financial gain, and Bella didn't need the stress of fighting this. She shook her head no and didn't seem the least bit worried.

"There's no way he'd ever win. Not only do I have the papers he signed, giving up his rights, but I have every text message, voicemail, and email that he sent—all of it saved on disc. I have a copy at home in a safe, Alice has one in her office in her safe, and my attorney has a copy. It's pretty damning evidence. Not only does it show that he was verbally abusive during that time, but his words prove that he never had any intention of taking responsibility. Some of the messages are from his friends, people his attorney would call to back up his side of the story, so their credibility is shot with what I have."

I grinned at her, impressed that even during what was probably the most stressful, most miserable time of her life, she somehow had the foresight to protect herself and Max. She was so damn smart. She grinned back at me, pretty proud of herself.

Her mood seemed to darken as she got lost in her thoughts. I simply waited, hoping she'd open up and tell me what was bothering her. She sighed once, and I could feel her start to shake again so I immediately pulled her closer, trying to calm her down, whispering into her ear.

"It's not fair," she cried out. "It's not fair to Max. Granted, he has no idea what's going on, but he doesn't deserve this. There are two people that are supposed to love kids beyond anything else, beyond anyone else, when they're born, and Max was cheated of that all because of some self-centered, irresponsible asshole."

I continued to hold her while she got everything out. "Not that I want him in our lives. Realistically, I know things worked out for the best for us, but it's hard not to regret that Max is missing out on something."

"Max isn't missing out," I assured her as she sobbed into my chest. My hands made a continuous circuit over her arms and back in hopes that my touch could offer some amount of comfort. "There's nothing he could've offered that Max doesn't already have. It's just a title—Max has plenty of people willing to fill that role for him without the title."

I had been trying to avoid over-thinking things, but I couldn't deny that I considered myself one of those people willing to—wanting to—step into that role. I lay there, trying to offer whatever comfort she needed, while I thought about how quickly my priorities had shifted and considered what would happen in the long term. As my mind raced, I held her closer, shifting slightly to pull her in tightly and pressing my lips to the top of her head while she calmed down.

We lay like that for a long while, the sky growing darker outside the window as the lights on the Strip brightened. Silence surrounded us as we each processed the events of the afternoon, until Bella's phone started ringing with Alice's ringtone.

"I can answer it and tell her we're staying in if you don't feel up to seeing anyone tonight," I offered, unsure as to whether or not Bella would want to honor our dinner plans with the group.

"I'm fine," she said, tracing my jaw with her index finger before rolling off of the bed and searching for her phone. I heard her tell Alice she just needed a few minutes to freshen up and ask if we could meet them in their room instead of the lobby. When she came back in, she looked at me for a moment before she started speaking. "I don't know who all saw that display this afternoon so I want to tell them what happened just in case we run into someone who mentions it."

"Good thinking," I said as I climbed out of the bed and walked over to kiss her and making sure she was truly okay with retelling the story.

The discussion wasn't as bad as I had expected, but everyone was understandably pretty pissed and ready to go track this guy down, Alice leading the charge. At dinner, we did run into a couple of people who asked Bella if she was okay, having walked in on the confrontation, so it turned out to be a good thing that Bella had told everyone beforehand, giving them a chance to calm down rather than finding out while out in public. As embarrassed as Bella was that these people had observed such a personal display, I could tell that she was both relieved and touched when each of them handed her a business card with their contact information should she need witnesses if her ex decided to pursue things.

I was confident that, at worst, he'd be nothing more than a brief pain in the ass if he was stupid enough to pursue anything; Bella had too much going for her, too much against him for there to be any real problem. There was no way for me to deny, though, that I was irritated that I couldn't have a few minutes to exercise my fists without giving him a little leverage. I'd just have to be satisfied that his epic screw-up was the biggest favor he could've done for me.


	22. Stays in Vegas

**Thanks Beans827 and Shug for getting this chapter back to me so quickly!**

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**EPOV**

After the stress of the first full day of the conference, we opted to call it a night early since Bella had her presentation the next day. Though it wasn't until the afternoon session, she wanted to make sure she was well rested and that she had plenty of time to get to the conference room to double check that everything was set up and functional in the morning. She was nervous enough already; she didn't want to worry about the equipment malfunctioning as well.

I hated to leave her to handle everything on her own and wanted to skip my morning session, but she insisted that I go since that was the entire point of coming on this trip. If it hadn't been a particularly useful presentation, I wouldn't have hesitated, but we were looking into upgrading our automation program and a couple companies would be presenting their newest products. I couldn't skip it since this was the topic that Peter was most interested in getting our feedback on before he made a decision on which system to use.

Though she had nowhere to be so early, Bella insisted on getting up and heading downstairs with me to meet the rest of the group for breakfast. We were seated almost immediately, the staff working quickly to make sure those of us here for the conference were rushed through so that we wouldn't run late.

I was probably being a little too overbearing and protective, and I knew that I couldn't be at her side for the rest of the trip, but I insisted on walking Bella back to the elevators in the off chance she ran into her ex again. I walked quickly back toward the conference rooms as soon as Bella was safely on her way up to the room, and I met up with Emmett and Jasper outside the doors. The setup had us entering from the back with two rows of tables that could seat four across lined up with a large screen at the front, ready to project the presenters' desktops, the first presenter already having his laptop set up and ready to go.

We found seats near the back and settled in when I heard a familiar voice. The asshole—I couldn't even bring myself to call him by his name and had mentally assigned 'The Asshole' as his new title—was just two tables in front of us in the next row over, making it easy for me to watch and listen.

A couple of people came in, standing near his table to listen to him relive yesterday's conversation for the small crowd that had gathered around him.

"So, you think she'll give you the money?" the guy next to him asked.

He shrugged. "It's worth a shot, isn't it?" he responded, snickering maliciously. "After the shit she put me though? I think I deserve a little compensation. She wouldn't have a dime of that if it wasn't for me. She owes me."

If I'd thought I'd ever felt rage before, I was mistaken. As much as I wanted to hurt him yesterday, it didn't compare to overhearing him when he thought he didn't have to filter his words. My hands formed fists and my leg bounced, torn between walking over there and putting him in his place, and waiting it out to see just how deep of a hole he could dig. Somewhere in my consciousness, I could hear Jasper and Emmett sitting next to me, deep in conversation, oblivious to what had drawn my attention. I had no idea what they were talking about, too focused on the conversation just a few feet away.

With their backs to me, I didn't have to worry about being discreet, and openly watched as one of the women standing there sidled up closer to him, sitting on the edge of the table and touching his arm. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of woman she had to be to sit there and make a move on a guy who was openly flaunting how little respect he had for his previous relationship. The entire situation disgusted me but my ears perked up at her question.

"So, how'd you find out she had all this money, anyway?"

It was something I'd been wondering since Bella told me the whole story yesterday. If the details were confidential, how in the hell did he find out that she was involved in a lawsuit?

"I have a casual, uh, _relationship_ with a paralegal," he said with a smirk and a chuckle. "She recognized the name when a bunch of us were out drinking, talking about old times, and someone mentioned her."

Knowing that Bella's privacy had been violated by someone at the law firm pushed me over the edge. I jumped from my seat in one swift movement, startling Emmett and Jasper. Before I could move, they both stood and Emmett held me back by my shoulder.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Emmett whispered.

My eyes moved back over to the group laughing as The Asshole began entertaining his little fan club with stories about the things he said and did to her before she moved. Emmett's and Jasper's gazes both followed mine, trying to figure out who I was watching.

"Bella's ex," I told them with a nod of my head toward the table that was still oblivious that they were being watched and overheard.

It only took a split second for the realization to hit, and Emmett pushed me out of the way as he barreled over to the table, Jasper and I following behind. Emmett walked around and slammed his palms onto the flat surface. "Chad, is it?"

"Yeah?" he responded warily, surprised at the interruption.

I neared the table, but stayed far enough away so that I wouldn't be seen yet. I wanted to see what Emmett was planning. He didn't respond immediately, just looked at The Asshole with a critical eye before leaning even closer. Emmett was a big guy, a wall of pure muscle, so I had no doubt this guy was two seconds from pissing himself in fear. "I always knew she could've done better than you. Good to finally have confirmation that was I right."

He still hadn't figured out why Emmett had confronted him, so I took the last few steps to stand beside Emmett just as he straightened up to his full height. I could see his features shift when recognition hit. He tensed up but quickly tried to hide it with a cocky laugh. After all, he still had people hanging around for his little show and he couldn't disappoint.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Jasper work his way in beside me. I knew that the three of us, side by side, had to look pretty fucking intimidating. The band of followers began to disperse in an attempt to distance themselves, but they all stayed close enough to the sidelines to see what was going to happen.

I leaned forward, adopting the same stance that Emmett had greeted him with, hands on the table. In a low, threatening tone of voice, I began to speak. "This ends now. Don't even so much as fucking _think_ her name. It's over."

His jaw stiffened and he glared at me, but the way he was squirming in his seat negated his attempts to appear menacing. "Like you don't want a cut of that check."

I ignored his attempt to goad me and continued. "She'd rather spend every last bit of that settlement fighting you in court than see a penny of it go to you. And you know she'd win. The lawsuit had nothing to do with you and no court would ever agree that you were entitled to anything. You signed your rights away, you and your friends left a trail a mile fucking long proving that you never had any intentions of being a father, that you denied even being the father, so if you try to blackmail her by threatening for custody, you know it'll be nothing but a total fucking waste of time."

I paused for a moment, enjoying how uncomfortable he was at my scrutiny. I looked down at his ID badge, noting which station and city he was here representing. I waved my hand in the general direction of the badge. "I see you work in a small market, so I'm guessing you make $30,000 a year, give or take." His reaction was slight and he recovered quickly, but I caught it and it was enough to tell me that my guess was dead on. "Do you really think you could afford to take her on, knowing that she not only out-earns you, but has access to that cache of money that you want your hands on to pay for the best attorneys available to bury you? And we both know you don't _really_ want to fight for custody, because if you do, if you insist on looking for loopholes, the only money changing hands will be the back support a judge will order you to pay and that monthly check you'll be forced to write for the next fourteen years—all because you got a little greedy and decided to use a child that you want no part of as a pawn in your little game."

I stood up, aligned once again with Emmett and Jasper. If the moment hadn't been so intense, I would've laughed at the way we all stood with arms crossed across our chests in a show of intimidation.

"So, like I said. This ends now. Leave here tomorrow and never contact her. You're nothing but a fucking stranger to her from here on out, you understand?"

He knew I was right; he knew he had no hold over her and that he'd never see a dime of that money. She wouldn't fall for his threats. Defeat was written all over his face, but he still refused to let his ego take a hit. "Yeah, what-the-fuck-ever," he said with a roll of his eyes. I could see Emmett and Jasper tense at either side of me, ready to jump in. He chuckled arrogantly, a last ditch effort to appear unaffected when conceding defeat. "Like I told my friends, here… I had to at least try. It was worth a shot."

Before I could say more, it was Jasper's turn to lean closer. "She may have been in the minority before she left, and you may have been able to rally your friends to help you bully her, but things are different now. If you get the bright idea to change your mind, just remember that she isn't alone anymore and there are quite a few people ready to step in and fight for her, to fight along side her." Jasper glanced back at me and Emmett before turning his attention forward once again. "And we're just the start of it."

Not giving him a chance to respond—not that he was able to form a response, judging by the look on his face—the three of us left the table with one last parting glare. Back at my seat, I looked around the room, not realizing until that moment how many people were around. We were still a few minutes away from the start of the presentation so most were mingling or setting their things out on the tables in front of them. For the most part, people seemed oblivious, only those directly surrounding his table were casting glances at each other as they processed what had happened. To the rest, we must've simply appeared to be in deep discussion.

I couldn't focus at first, but as I calmed down and the adrenaline stopped pumping through my system, I was able to pay attention to the presentations and take a few notes.

I raced out as soon as the seminar ended and called Bella to find out if she had time to grab some lunch before she headed in to set up for her own presentation. She just happened to be on her way to get something as I was calling, so I sped up to meet her. I debated telling her about what had happened and decided against it for the time being. She had pushed it out of her head, and I didn't want to remind her right before facing a room full of her peers.

As soon as I turned a corner and saw her, all the tension that had built up over the morning dissipated. She looked nervous, but beautiful as ever. She was clearly preoccupied—most likely going over her presentation in her head—and didn't see me walk up. She jumped when I reached out to her but quickly laughed at herself and melted into my embrace, tipping her head back so that I could kiss her.

"How are you holding up?" I asked her when I pulled away.

She sighed and we started walking, hand in hand, toward the restaurant. "I'm okay. Nervous, but okay." She looked up at me, biting her lip in embarrassment at her admission. "At this point, I just can't wait until it's over so I can stop worrying."

She picked at a sandwich, too nervous to really eat, and stalled for as long as she could before she had to leave to head back to the conference room. After walking her to the door and wishing her luck, showing as much support and confidence in her that I could, I headed for my afternoon seminar. It wasn't anything too important, most of the information was either irrelevant to our stations or common sense, so I didn't have to pay much attention. It was a good thing, too, since my mind kept wandering to that room I had left Bella at earlier, wondering how things were going and how she was holding up.

As soon as the session ended, I bolted from my seat and was out the door while others were still gathering up their things. When I neared the room her presentation was being held in, the door was still closed with no sign of movement behind it, signifying that her seminar hadn't let out yet. I debated for a few minutes whether or not to slip in. She had said she didn't want any of us in there, that having an audience that she knew would make her even more nervous, but my curiosity got the best of me and I cracked the door open.

I peeked inside and realized that if I was quiet, I could listen and watch. I held the door and guided it until it hung open a few inches. I could see a couple people in back texting away on their phones, but for the most part, she had captured the attention of nearly the entire room. Those that weren't watching her every move and hanging onto each word were scribbling away, taking notes.

Judging by the discussion, it seemed that her presentation was over and they had entered an informal question and answer session.

"You mentioned earlier how fees are driving people away," a middle aged man asked from the center of the room. "What have you done to combat this? Have you found anything that works?"

I watched her take in the question, looking absolutely breathtaking at the front of the room and exuding so much confidence, but I when I realized that I had unthinkingly opened the door wider, I quickly readjusted it. I leaned against the wall next to the door and listened as she answered. "Actually, last year we eliminated additional fees at the end of a transaction and have seen a significant increase in advance ticket sales. We have also received a lot of positive feedback. People feel like they're being taken advantage of when those fees are tacked on at the end. When it started years ago, people didn't think twice about paying a few dollars in service fees, but today they're often looking at the final cost of a ticket increasing by an additional fifty percent. If you're talking about local or smaller shows where base ticket prices can remain inexpensive, you might be doubling the cost of a ticket."

I could hear a number of people mumble their agreement and understanding, and I smiled as she continued. "Most of the fees are still there, but they're a part of the ticket price. The feedback we've received shows that most ticket buyers appreciate knowing that a fifty dollar ticket is only going to cost them fifty dollars. It's all about repackaging. Those fees have become a standard in the industry, concert-goers have come to expect them, so when they're rolled into the total price, they feel like they've somehow managed to get a deal because they aren't seeing the itemization at the end of the transaction."

I could hear the murmurs increase as people discussed this perspective, and again, she kept explaining. "Sure, it seems counterintuitive that consumers would rather pay for a fifty dollar ticket than a thirty dollar one, or a one hundred dollar ticket as opposed to a seventy five dollar ticket, but let's face it, they're doing the mental math. They know that a thirty dollar ticket will end up costing significantly more and would much rather deal with the convenience of having everything wrapped up in one listed price." She paused for a second and her mouth quirked up into a half smile as she chuckled at whatever thought had just crossed her mind. "To be blunt, they like feeling like we're not trying to screw them over."

A round of chuckles filled the room, my own among them. "Obviously, this is all anecdotal," she said to the listening crowd. "There haven't really been any formal studies on this, and I have no idea if it would work in every market. We don't know if the increase in sales that we've seen is temporary or not, but for the moment, our numbers have risen significantly since making this change."

The question and answer session went on for another twenty minutes before she finally managed to wrap things up. When people finally started streaming out, I took the initiative to make my presence known. She was standing at the table at the far end of the room packing up her things and talking quietly with a few people who had hung around to speak to her and continue asking questions. They were just turning to leave when I finally made my way to the front, and she turned to look at me, surprise written all over her face.

"When did you get here?" she asked, and I couldn't read her tone of voice to tell whether or not she was angry.

"A little while ago," I said, not taking my eyes off of her, waiting for a response that would tell me if I was in trouble, but she gave me nothing to work with. "I came by, thinking you'd be done but it looks like you ran a little over. I hid in the back until you were finished. I didn't want to interrupt or make you nervous."

She blushed and dipped her head down in a poor attempt to hide. Apparently, embarrassment was the winning emotion at the revelation that I had been listening.

"I told you that you had nothing to worry about. You were great." She tried to wave me off, to deflect. A few more people stopped to say goodbye, thank her, and compliment her, keeping her cheeks a permanent shade of red while I stood beside her, one hand on her lower back in an attempt to prevent her from shying away. I knew she hated the attention, but she worked so hard and deserved to know how much she was appreciated and respected.

When the room finally emptied of everyone but us, she sighed dramatically and looked up at me. "It's finally over. Let's get out of here."

I laughed and picked her up, throwing her over my shoulder. She squeaked at the surprise and yelled out while hitting my back lightly. "Wait! I need to pack my things!"

Instead of letting her down, I walked back over to the table where everything was spread out and turned around so that she could reach. She laughed and slapped my ass. "Let me down, I'm not packing upside down."

I lifted her legs in the air, my hands wrapped around her ankles, so that she dropped further down my back toward the table, and she squeaked again, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist in an attempt to keep herself from falling.

"Hurry up," I called to her, laughing.

"Put me down!" she yelled out, her words muffled. I lifted her legs again causing her to hold tighter and yell at me.

I finally put her back on her feet in front of me, and she wobbled as she looked at me, blinking a few times. "Whoa, head rush."

I pulled her in for a kiss, both of us still laughing, making it impossible to get too intense. She was the one who broke away first. "Okay, I haven't been able to eat anything all day and I'm starving. Let's pack up and get out of here."

I helped her gather her things, hitching the strap of the bag onto my shoulder so that I could carry it for her, and wrapped my free arm around her waist, pulling her tightly against me as we made our way out of the room. She rested her head against me and sighed in contentment. I kissed the top of her head and couldn't help but be thankful that the stress of the past few weeks—especially the past couple days—was now behind us.

We had just made it to the room when her phone started ringing. I took her things into the bedroom while she answered and immediately identified the caller as her father. I stretched out on the bed, closing my eyes as I listened to her speak. I could feel a smile pull at my lips as I thought about how, even though the trip featured a pretty big speed bump, we had somehow grown even closer.

I focused on the highlights of the trip thus far until I heard her walk into the room. She sat at the foot of the bed, her back to me and said, "What's wrong with him?"

I propped myself up on my elbows and waited for her to continue, my attention now focused on her conversation, fearing the worst. She turned to look at me and let out a slight chuckle into the phone. "Okay, put him on."

She scooted closer and switched the phone to speaker so that I could hear. "This should be good," she said, still grinning.

A shuffle of the phone sounded through the line before a small, sad voice sniffled. "Mama?"

"What's the matter, sweetie?" she asked, trying to sound more concerned than amused.

All at once, that small voice started wailing. "Grandpa ate my fish!"

I snorted from the effort of holding back the laugh and noticed that Bella had tears in her eyes from her attempt to stay silent. She inhaled a shaky breath, trying to gather herself before speaking. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

"But I wanted to show you!" he cried. "I wanted to take it home!"

"Do you remember that time you took your cup of milk to your room and forgot about it?" she asked him and he mumbled his 'uh huh' to her. "Remember how bad it made your room smell when we finally found it?" Again he managed another 'uh huh' between his sniffles. "The fish would smell worse than that. I'm sure it was a wonderful fish and you can tell me all about it when I see you tomorrow, but it's probably a good thing that grandpa ate it."

She slapped a hand over her mouth to hold her laugh in, and at that point I had my head buried in her shoulder trying to stifle mine. I had no idea how she managed to keep a calm tone of voice long enough to rationalize with him.

Another sniffle sounded through the phone, and Max's voice was again small, though a little less sad. "Grandpa took a picture."

"Well, see?" Bella responded. "You can tell me all about it tomorrow and show me the picture."

They talked for a few more minutes before Charlie got back on the line. "Thanks for talking him down. Geesh, the kid made me feel like the world's worst grandparent."

"Nah," Bella assured him as we both laughed. "I think you just surprised him."

"He refused to eat. I had to make him a grilled cheese sandwich." Charlie sighed, still clearly beating himself up over eating the kid's prized catch, and Bella laughed louder before picking the phone up and switching it off of speaker to continue and then end their conversation.

As soon as she hung up, she looked at me and we both burst into laughter.

"I'm so glad that was cleared up over the phone, because there is no way I could've kept a straight face if I had heard that in person," I said, still laughing.

"He's so getting teased about this when he gets older," Bella announced, almost giddy at adding another embarrassing story to the mental file that she could use to her advantage in the future.

We spent a little more time in the room before changing and heading back out to enjoy our last night in Vegas. We were just heading outside to catch a cab when Bella stopped short. I halted my steps as well and turned to look at her, to see what had caught her attention and noticed her ex in the line. He looked up, as if sensing us, and immediately turned away, ducking his head. She started moving again, and we took our place at the end of the line. Two cabs later, he still hadn't looked directly at us, though it was obvious from the way he looked around that he was trying to keep tabs on us through his peripheral vision. When the third cab pulled up, he hurriedly handed his luggage off to the cab driver to stuff into the trunk while he and his friends slipped inside the vehicle for the short ride to the airport.

"I can't believe he didn't try to get one last dig in," Bella mumbled but sounding slightly relieved as she watched the cab pull away.

I looked around at all of the people around us, many of whom had attended the conference and were on their way to catch late flights home. I nervously ran my hand through my hair. I knew I needed to tell her about this afternoon, but perhaps the cab line at the Bellagio wasn't the best place.

More cabs pulled up, and within minutes we were headed away from the hotel to meet up with everyone else. Rosalie and Alice had been sightseeing, and Emmett and Jasper had left right after the last seminar to catch up with them. I wanted to talk to her before we found them and knew I only had a few minutes. Deciding that the cab driver didn't give a shit about our personal lives, I turned to her and told her everything. I toned down some of his words, glossed over some of his more insulting comments, but I was as honest as I could be. It all spilled out, and she watched, showing no reaction at all to my confession.

When I stopped, she didn't respond right away. The silence was deafening and her face was a mask. I waited and waited until finally she spoke.

"I can't believe you guys did that," she said, her tone of voice giving nothing away until she hit me on the shoulder. "That could've gone so badly!"

I grabbed her hand and held onto it so she couldn't swing again. "We couldn't do nothing. None of us would've let it go too far. We just had to make sure that he knew that we all knew he was full of shit."

She took a deep breath and nodded as she stared blankly at the back of the seat in front of her. Slowly she turned her head until her eyes found mine. "So, it's really over? Like, really over? No more bullshit threats that we all know he won't follow through on?"

I exhaled in relief and smiled. "It's over. You won't hear from him again."

A smile split across her face, and she launched across the seat to hug me. "I don't think this is what they meant by 'what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,' but I'll gladly take it."

The cab rolled to a stop just then, and we stumbled out. I stuffed some cash into the cabbie's hand, and we headed inside to celebrate with our friends.


	23. New Perspective

******Thanks to my betas Beans827 and Shug!**

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**BPOV**

I cracked my eyes open and immediately squeezed them shut. After a moment I tried again. As my vision slowly returned, I noticed the awkward position I was lying in, my head against the window and neck tilted at an odd angle. I stretched and immediately started massaging the kinks.

I heard Edward chuckle and turned my head to look at him.

"We're almost there, and I need you to tell me where I have to go."

Without saying a word I turned back to the window to see that we were in fact just miles from Forks. I didn't remember falling asleep and felt a little out of sorts since it felt like only minutes ago we were leaving the Port Angeles city limits. I rubbed my face with both hands to try to will away the exhaustion before turning back to Edward.

I directed him through town, saying little else since I was still trying to wake up and therefore unable to carry on any kind of conversation. He seemed pretty quiet and contemplative himself, most likely due to nervousness over the impending introduction to Charlie.

I pointed out a few places that paired with stories I'd already told him about my couple years living in this town, and in no time at all, I was directing him to the small driveway in front of the place I had once called home.

I heard him inhale deeply and looked over at him with an encouraging smile. He tried to return it but it looked more like a grimace, causing me to laugh at him. His eyes trained on the front door warily, as if expecting Charlie to kick it open and storm out with a rifle in hand already taking aim, and I shook my head in amusement. Movement to my right caught my eye, and I scrambled to open the door. Reaching to unhook my seat belt as I stumbled out, I took off into a run toward the side of the house.

In seconds I had closed the distance and scooped Max up into my arms, hugging him tightly and covering his face in kisses. A flurry of missed you's and love you's were traded back and forth.

I shifted Max over to my hip when Charlie walked over. I reached over with my free arm for a half hug and greeted him.

"So this is him?" he asked quietly, and I looked up to see him looking over my shoulder.

I nodded at the same time Max noticed Edward slowly walking closer and shouted his name before wriggling to get back on the ground. As he shot across the lawn and launched himself up at Edward, I turned to Charlie. "Be nice."

He laughed and tugged me closer with one arm around my shoulder. "I'm always nice. What do you take me for?"

We stood and watched as Edward and Max carried on a conversation we couldn't hear. I felt Charlie's arm tighten momentarily, so quick that I could have imagined it, but I held hope that it was a show of silent approval. A throat cleared behind us and startled me.

I looked over Charlie's shoulder to see Jake walking slowly towards us, his eyes darting between me and Charlie and Max and Edward. He looked… uncomfortable.

"Hey," he said quietly as he stepped closer. One hand scratched nervously at the back of his neck. Charlie moved away, and Jake and I hugged awkwardly. He didn't hold on as tight and let go much quicker than usual. For a moment I felt guilty before I reminded myself that there was no reason to feel that way. I had never led him on, never promised him anything more than my friendship, and I had every right to be happy.

Max's voice called everyone's attention in his direction. "Come on," he urged as he tugged Edward behind him.

Introductions were quickly made, and I couldn't help but smile when Charlie waved off Edward's "sir" and insisted he use his name. Jake, though his words were polite, maintained a steady scowl. Edward had already heard the whole story, and I knew they would cross paths at some point—I just hadn't expected it to be immediately upon arriving into town.

Bored with formalities, Max pulled at Edward's hand again to lead him to the back yard so that he could show off his swing set. Jake's scowl deepened, and Charlie looked between us before announcing with unconvincing nonchalance that he should follow. As soon as all three had turned the corner and were out of sight, I looked at Jake and asked, "Want to tell me what that was all about?"

"Thought you said you weren't looking to date?" His words were accusing, but behind the bravado there was dejection.

"I wasn't looking. It just happened, and I'm happy that it did."

He looked off into the distance rather than at me, but I held my ground. "You said you weren't seeing him."

And there it was. I knew it was going to come back to that eventually, and I should've expected it to be one of his first points. He had asked me the last time I'd been home after Edward's name was brought into conversation, and I knew that my denial would be thrown back at me, even though it was true at the time.

"I wasn't then." He rolled his eyes and scoffed in disbelief. "I didn't lie to you, but whether or not you choose to believe me is up to you."

"I know. Shit!" he exclaimed as he held his forehead and squeezed his eyes closed. "It's just… "

His words trailed off, and I knew he was upset. "It's just what?"

He took a deep breath, still looking anywhere but at me while he considered how to finish that thought. "It's just that you've known this guy, for what? Two… maybe three months? We've known each other for practically our entire lives and you never gave me a chance."

I felt terrible for him, but I didn't feel guilty. I couldn't force feelings that weren't there. I wasn't able to make it better, but the least I could do was be completely honest with him.

"You were always one of my best friends, but that was it." I paused for a few seconds while I tried to find a way to word my thoughts and realized it was futile. "Ugh, this is going to come out all wrong and I'm not saying it to be a bitch, but if, in all that time, I still couldn't find even the slightest romantic feelings for you, doesn't that say something?"

He was clearly trying to at least appear as though he was remaining stoic, but he didn't answer so I continued on. "It's not a choice, Jake. It's something that's either there or it isn't, and it wasn't there. At least not for me." I crossed my arms just to have something to do with my hands and watched the toe of my shoe slide back and forth through the grass, waiting anxiously to see how he'd respond.

He sighed heavily and his chin dropped. I looked up, anticipating that he was ready to speak. He nodded slightly before looking up. "I know. I guess I always knew that. I just hoped… "

He trailed off, but he wasn't finished so I stayed quiet, waiting for him. He chuckled lightly and shook his head. "It couldn't hurt to try, right?"

I grimaced slightly, unable to hide it before he saw. "What?" he asked.

I debated for a moment before reminding myself that this was the time to lay it all out there, to make sure nothing was left unsaid. "About that… it could hurt. It did… "

"Wh-what do you mean?" he asked.

"You have to have noticed that we aren't exactly as close as we used to be," I started. I made a conscious effort to keep my features soft. I didn't want to be completely accusatory. Some of the blame was mine for not having this conversation a long time ago. "The more you tried, the more awkward things were between us. I constantly had to ask you to back off, and it always made me feel like the villain to do so."

"Shit, I really screwed up, didn't I?" He laughed in an attempt to soften the blow, but the anguish was still there.

I didn't answer, not that he was expecting me to. He was speaking to himself more than anything.

"I'm sorry," he said after taking a few moments to think things over. "I didn't realize I was pushing you away. I… I'm going to try to be happy for you. I don't know the guy, and part of me _really_ doesn't want to like him, but as your friend, I at least hope that he's good to you and Max and that he makes you happy."

I nodded. "He is… and he does." I was grateful that he was being so understanding. A simple answer was sufficient. I didn't need to gush about how wonderful things have been and rub salt in the wound.

He nodded, too, before deciding to leave. "I should go. Umm, just tell everybody bye for me?"

"Sure," I said and offered a small smile.

We hugged awkwardly before he walked off to his car. As he drove out of view, I felt relief that it was all finally out and that once he had come to terms with things, we could begin to salvage our friendship.

I walked to the back yard, and the momentary guilt I felt at leaving Edward alone with Charlie moments after meeting him subsided as I heard them talking and laughing while Max would yell out reminders to watch him each time he made it back to the top of the slide.

"How'd it go?" Charlie asked once I was close.

My face contorted, my head rocked back and forth, and I tipped one hand side to side in a combination 'I don't know, okay, good I guess' nonverbal answer causing both to laugh.

Their time alone must've gone well because without hesitation, Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side, laughing into my hair.

"I warned him," Charlie said with a shrug.

"Somebody push me!" Max called out, having tired of the slide and moving on to the swings.

"I'm on it," Edward said. "You two talk."

Charlie and I watched Edward as he jogged across the lawn and stood behind Max, pulling the chains so far back that Max squealed with a combination of laughter and fear.

After a minute, Charlie broke the silence. "He came by a lot over the past week. I think he was trying to get Max to show something other than indifference. It didn't help that Max wouldn't stop talking about Edward. I'm sure that greeting he received when you two showed up stung a little."

I winced at his words. "Probably. But if he had listened to me at all over the past how many years, none of this should have been a surprise. He would've known it wasn't going to be him, and he would've moved on a long time ago."

We were quiet again, watching Max swing higher and higher until Edward would catch him around the waist on a back swing and stop him in place causing peals of laughter to erupt.

"He's an all right guy," Charlie conceded after a bit, and I turned to look at him. He wouldn't look at me—he was uncomfortable with this sort of thing—and I grinned at the subtle approval he offered.

"He is." I tried unsuccessfully to hide the smirk, and Charlie groaned at his discomfort with the conversation.

"You guys eat?" he asked.

"You cooking?" I cocked on eyebrow, giving him a sideways look.

Charlie snorted at my attempt at humor. "The only thing in my fridge is fish, and I'd rather not revisit that anytime soon."

I laughed loudly, causing Charlie to chuckle. "Pizza okay?" he asked. As if this town had many options for delivery.

"Yeah, pizza's good."

I continued to laugh while Charlie headed into the house, then I turned to walk toward the swing set. I ran the last few steps, grabbed the chains to stop them, and then leaned down to kiss Max's cheeks.

He scrunched his face up and lifted his shoulder in an attempt to stop me. His giggles contradicted his words when he demanded, "Stop, Mama. That's gross!"

I laughed as he swiped his hand across his cheek then took a seat on the open swing next to him. "Too bad. Deal with it."

"Need a push?" Edward asked.

When I looked up to see him with a goofy grin and wink at me, I laughed. "Definitely not."

Max dragged his feet so his swing would come to stop before hopping up and running off to the slide again. Edward took the now vacant swing and twisted the chain enough to turn to me.

"Sorry I left you alone with my dad," I apologized.

He shrugged and stretched his leg to wrap around one of mine and pulled me closer. "Don't worry about it."

"He didn't threaten you or anything, did he?" I asked, because it certainly wouldn't be the first time that Charlie not so subtly referenced his professional familiarity with firearms in a show of dominance.

Edward chuckled and shook his head, watching his feet tangle with mine. "No, no threats."

I sat quietly, waiting for him to elaborate on what they _did_ talk about while I was gone, but he said nothing. He looked up a little while later and finally noticed my stare. "What?"

I raised my eyebrows and nodded in an attempt to prompt him to continue. He simply furrowed his brow and shrugged.

"Ugh," I groaned in exasperation. "If he didn't threaten you, what _did_ he do?"

Edward threw his head back, laughing. "He didn't do anything, don't worry. He mentioned a few things you've told him about me, I confirmed, you showed up."

"That's it?" I asked skeptically.

"That's it," he promised.

Before I could question him further, our attention was drawn to a wail from the bottom of the slide. Max was curled into a ball, and though I couldn't tell exactly what had happened, it seemed he attempted to slide down on his belly, feet first, and was unable to catch himself.

I ran the few steps and turned his body around to see how badly he was hurt. Immediately, my attention was drawn to his muddy and scraped up knee. Nothing too terrible, but for a kid that small, it would be impossible to convince him that it was just minor so I didn't even bother. I lifted him up and his little arms went around my neck as he sobbed into my shoulder.

"You got him?" Edward asked from right behind me, and I nodded. "Is he okay?"

I shifted clumsily to look at him and nodded again. "Yeah, just a little scraped up. He'll be fine once the sting wears off."

As we neared the house, Edward raced a few steps ahead to get the door for me. We rushed past Charlie who was on the phone, most likely ordering the pizza, craning his neck to see what was going on. I sat Max down into a chair at the kitchen table before setting off to find what I needed to clean him up. He cried harder at the cold water on the washcloth when I tried to clean away the layer of dirt. I could hear Edward trying to talk to him and distract him as I worked, but I wasn't paying much attention until I noticed that Max had quieted down.

I was putting Neosporin on the scrape when Max laughed, catching me by surprise. When I turned from my kneeling position, I saw Edward sitting in the next chair with one pant leg hiked up over his knee.

"See? It's right here," he said as he pointed to a faint scar.

Max giggled again and tried to get up so he could take a closer look. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I kept him in his seat while I opened the Band-Aid. "It's just like mine!" he yelled out proudly.

"Yep," Edward agreed with a laugh. "I was a little older than you are and fell off my bike. This one," he said as he held up his elbow, looking for another scar, "I jumped off the porch to see if I could fly."

Max laughed loudly at that, and Edward looked at him pointedly and lightheartedly warned, "Don't try that. It doesn't work. You just end up getting hurt."

I chuckled as I listened to them compare war wounds and started to clean up my mess. I looked up to see Charlie leaning against the frame of the door, arms crossed, and a half smile on his face as he watched. Feeling my stare, he winked once before turning his attention back to Max, who was ripping his shoe and sock off and searching intently for a non-existent mark on his big toe from a bee sting last summer.

Charlie eventually joined in once Max noticed he was in the room and began grilling him about his scars. In no time, all three had sleeves and pants hiked and twisted as they compared marks. Before long, Max remembered I was in the room.

"What about you?" he asked.

Charlie snorted. "Kid, you could find the quickest route to the Mexico border with all the scars she has. It's like a road map."

I flung the dishtowel in my hand at him and attempted to glare. It didn't have much of an effect since I was choking back laughter at the same time. The man had a sense of humor, I couldn't help it.

The doorbell rang, saving me from having to relive my own struggles with gravity, and I jogged out of the kitchen yelling, "Got it!" I opened the door and quickly apologized to the delivery person as I swept past and crossed my fingers that the car door was still unlocked. Feeling victorious when the door opened, I quickly grabbed my purse and headed back to the front door reaching it just as Edward stepped out and walked past, letting me know he was going to grab our overnight bags.

"Sorry about that," I said as I traded cash for our dinner.

I balanced the pizza with one hand as I held the door open for Edward who shifted our bags to one hand and placed his free one above my head, silently insisting I go inside before him. I sighed dramatically and rolled my eyes as I pushed off of the door, trying not to smile at his crooked smirk and wink. This playful, flirty Edward was a vast change from the quiet, contemplative one in the car earlier.

"All right, who's hungry?" I asked as I entered the kitchen and laid the box in the middle of the table then walked over to the cupboards to pull down some plates.

I didn't notice Edward had come in until he took the plates from my hand just as I was about to lay them on the counter. I smiled my thanks before turning to the refrigerator. Without asking, I quickly grabbed what I knew to be everybody's preferred drinks and balanced them in the crook of my left arm as I used my right hand to shut the door.

I spun so that I could return to the table but my steps faltered when I noticed an odd look on Charlie's face. It was curious and contemplative as he watched the scene before him. My attention shifted to Edward and Max. Edward had made Max a plate having cut the slice in half so that it wasn't too large for him to handle and was currently folding a napkin and tucking it under the edge of his plate. At first I didn't see anything out of the ordinary in this situation until I looked back at Charlie who was still watching with rapt interest.

It wasn't until I considered how this looked from the outside that my mind started to race with interpretations. Over the past couple months, moments like this had become routine. We had fallen into this pattern so easily and naturally that I hadn't even realized that it had happened. Watching it with new understanding, with a fresh perspective, we looked like and behaved as a family unit. The revelation was nearly enough to knock me off my feet. My knees actually buckled before I caught myself, and the way my heart was pounding, it felt like I'd just finished a marathon.

It was a staggering realization, and for a moment I wondered if Edward had noticed as well. If he hadn't, would it scare him when he did? Would he feel trapped or obligated to us? The idea terrified me, but before it could take root in my mind, Charlie looked over and caught my eye. He seemed lighter, less of the worry and concern that I'd seen in him in recent years. That one look was bursting with acceptance, approval, and peace.

Once again I assessed the scene from his perspective. He saw someone who was not only willing but eager to make sure that Max and I were taken care of, even when it came to the small things. He saw someone who embodied all the reasons he'd thought I should give Jake a chance—except instead of just gaining a protector, I'd found someone who also made me happy, who I could… love.

I took clumsy steps toward the table, unsure of how much longer I could hold myself upright, and dropped gracelessly into the open seat next to Edward. His attention shifted to me as I quickly pushed the drinks around, dispersing them. Charlie, thankfully, distracted himself on the other side of Max by helping him with his juice box giving me a moment of semi-privacy to work through my feelings.

When I finally found the nerve to look at Edward after my shocking epiphany, I couldn't help but smile at his amused curiosity. His half grin, adorably furrowed brow, and bright eyes told me everything I needed to know—he was happy. I didn't have to worry about him getting spooked and taking off. Everything he did with and for us was because he wanted to, not because he felt that it was required or expected of him.

My hand wrapped around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair, as I leaned my head forward until my forehead rested against his. I took a slow, deep breath as the calm washed over me, his scent filling my lungs and fogging my mind, and I could feel the lazy smile spreading across my face.

We stayed like that for a little while until he moved so that his lips were closer to my ear so that he could whisper to me. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

I laughed quietly and shook my head as he backed away to get a better look at me. He simply chuckled and squeezed above my knee once before we both rejoined dinner.

My moment of discovery ended when Charlie spoke up. "So how was the trip? Everything go okay?"

Though I knew he was talking about my presentation knowing how nervous I was about it, I couldn't help but think about the events he'd find most interesting, running into the one person he'd most like to use for target practice.

"Yeah, my presentation went well and the other seminars were pretty interesting."

My answer was direct, precise, and to the point, apparently a major red flag for a cop. Charlie shifted in his seat and leaned forward. "What happened?"

My eyes darted around the table before they landed on Max who was oblivious, picking at a piece of pepperoni. "We'll talk later, okay?" I pleaded.

Charlie looked between me and Max, picking up on what I was saying. He nodded his head. "Later."

Later came all too quickly. My foot hadn't even hit the last step when I returned from taking Max up to bed before Charlie started grilling me.

"He was there?" he asked, voice laced with anger and irritation. I simply nodded. "What happened? What did he say? What did he do?"

I walked past him and took a seat on the couch and waited until he sat in his chair. "Before you get yourself worked up, all he managed to do was dig an even bigger hole. There's nothing he can do to us. He's gone."

He impatiently waved his hand to tell me to stop trying to placate him and just spit the story out, so I did. I told him everything that had happened, and he'd volley back and forth, asking Edward and me for more details, the investigator in him taking over. By the end, he seemed just as sure as the rest of us that I had nothing to worry about, though one piece of information still concerned him.

"So who told him?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I have no clue and don't really have any way of finding out. I called my attorney as soon as we got on the road today and he's going to see what he can find out, but there were a dozen firms on this case—it's impossible to say which one this girl worked for."

"Is he going to let his co-council know?" Charlie questioned.

"Yeah," I said. "He was going to give them a heads up, just in case. I mean, I have no delusions that these things stay one hundred percent confidential. It's inevitable that someone will go home and talk about their day and share private details, but this is completely different, you know? It isn't venting to someone who has no ties... this had the potential to be really ugly."

"So what did your attorney say about him trying to get money out of you?" Charlie's elbows were resting on his knees, his brow furrowed as he thought through the situation.

"Same thing as the rest of us," I answered with a laugh. "He said that any attorney will be able to see it's pointless and wouldn't waste his time taking that case on and if one did, it wouldn't go very far once presented with everything we have."

"Good," he said with a nod, and just like that the conversation was over. Charlie stood from his seat and stretched. "All right, kids. I'm heading to bed."

"Night, Dad," I said as he walked toward the steps. At the last moment he changed course and headed to the closet. Without a word, he pulled a couple blankets and a pillow before walking back and wordlessly leaving them on the arm of the couch before walking back and heading up the stairs.

My body shook with the effort it took to not laugh out loud, but the moment I heard Charlie's bedroom door click shut behind him, I couldn't hold back my reaction to his lack of subtlety.

"He doesn't leave anything up for negotiation, does he?" Edward asked as he watched my fit of laughter with a hint of concern for my sanity. To be honest, _I_ was concerned for my sanity. It seemed this new understanding of how I felt had pushed me right into 'giddy schoolgirl' territory.

Deciding to enjoy it before the high wore off, I fisted his shirt in my hands before throwing myself backwards to lie on the couch, forcing him to follow and hover above me. With one hand wrapped behind his neck to bring him closer, I met him halfway to kiss him.

"I'd ask if you've been drinking," he started before closing the distance to kiss me again. Pulling away seconds later and licking his lips, he finished, "But I can see that you haven't."

I simply shrugged and grinned, ignoring his unasked question. I wasn't ready to say the words. I'd never felt like this before and couldn't bring myself to rush into an admission that huge.

He kissed me on the forehead before pushing himself up and away, laughing as I pouted at the distance. He quirked a brow at me and pointed at the ceiling. "That man is not only allowed but _required_ to carry a gun—I'm not taking any chances."

He held a hand out for me to help me sit up and pulled me into his side. For hours, we sat and talked about everything and nothing. I fought to stay awake, not wanting to leave his side, but after the third time he had to wake me and beg me to go upstairs, I finally relented.

I stood at the foot of the bed and watched Max's chest rise and fall with his breaths, wondering how a child so small could manage to stretch out to the point he could take up the entire mattress. With a chuckle, I walked over and gently nudged him to one side before slipping under the covers. Immediately, his little body found mine and cuddled into my side without the slightest sign of waking. I absently ran my hand through his hair and watched him until I fell asleep, thinking the entire time of how much our lives had changed for the better… all because of one person.


	24. Extraordinarily Foulmouthed

******Thanks to my betas Beans827 and Shug! Massively huge thanks to HEAR for answering Chicago related questions while en route to a cruise.**

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**EPOV**

"I don't like that word."

It was Sunday night, and Bella and I were lying in bed, having what might have been the most ridiculously pointless conversation that we'd ever had. The exhaustion of the previous week and seemingly never ending travel must have finally caught up to us. We'd left her dad's place just after lunch, after a mercifully pleasant first introduction, and made it home by late afternoon to be greeted with crepe paper, a piñata, and Pin the Tail on the Donkey. I'd really thought I was going to get away with not having to acknowledge turning thirty, but it seemed they all hadn't forgotten as I'd hoped. Max was supposedly to blame for the party's theme, but I was pretty sure the adults had just as much fun, if not more. Especially once he'd crashed for the night, and Pin the Tail on the Donkey turned into _drunk_ Pin the Tail on the Donkey. It was a damn good thing they made those tails with tape instead of pins these days or Bella's wall would've looked like Swiss cheese with how far off we'd been aiming.

"What? Extraordinary?" I asked, trying to figure out which word Bella had an issue with.

She nodded as she shifted so that she could rest her chin on my chest and look at me. "It makes no sense. It's like saying, 'you're not just ordinary… you're _extra_ ordinary!'"

I laughed, staring up at the ceiling as I thought about it. She did kind of have a point. "I think you just ruined that word for me."

"It had to be done," she said with a shrug. "If I have to be irrationally annoyed by it, I'm taking as many people with me as I can."

I tucked my chin into my chest so I could see her better and reached out to push a lock of hair behind her ear before it fell into her eye.

"What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?" I questioned, needing further clarification since it wasn't exactly a clear question.

She turned her head slightly to lay her cheek where her chin had been while I absently ran my index finger from ear to jaw and back. "You have to have a random word that bugs you. What is it?"

It took me a minute, but I finally came up with one. "Ah, got it. Edit."

"Edit?" Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why it would irritate me, and I took a moment to appreciate just how expressive she was.

"Not really 'edit'… just various forms of it," I explained. "Past tense, you sound like you have a stutter. Then if you add an 'it' at the end? Insanity."

I could see the wheels turning as she tested the word, whispering, "Edited, edited, edited it, edited it, edited it." It didn't take long before it clicked, and her nose crinkled. "You're right, it sounds ridiculous."

Her eyes drifted closed as her chuckles died out, a soft smile remaining on her face. A quiet sigh signified that she was ready to fall asleep at any moment. "I don't wanna go back to work tomorrow," she mumbled.

"Me either," I agreed. "At least you get to sleep in a little."

Without opening her eyes, she lifted a hand and patted my cheek, her smile growing more playful, her voice heavy with sarcasm as she retorted, "Poor baby."

I grabbed her hand to stop its gentle assault and turned my head to kiss her palm before holding it to my chest. "I'd like to see you try and start your day at four-thirty."

"Never gonna happen," she said as she rolled away to turn the alarm on for me and flick the light from the nightstand off. "I'm smart enough to _not_ take a job that starts at six."

I reached over and grabbed her wrist to tug her to me. She laughed at my mock anger. "We can't all be as smart as you."

She settled in next to me. "I set such a high standard. Everyone should strive to follow my example."

"It's an _impossible_ standard," I responded as I tightened my arm around her. "No one will ever come close."

She snorted lightly. "You're so cheesy."

"I'm too tired for anything else," I replied with a chuckle, then involuntarily yawned, emphasizing my point.

"Go to sleep. I'm just going to find my spot." She shifted around, and I grinned.

"Your spot?" I asked, trying to figure out what she was doing.

Stretched out on her side, she hooked one leg over my thigh before burying her nose in my neck. "Mmhmm," she hummed. "My spot. Right here."

I closed my eyes, unable to will away the smile on my face as I held her closer, and she pressed light kisses against my skin. "I like you in that spot. It's all yours. I'm gifting it to you permanently."

She laughed, the exhalation tickling me but not enough to convince me to move away. "Go to sleep, cheeseball."

"Gladly," I murmured before consciousness faded away.

I'd always thought I was a heavy sleeper. All my life, I'd had no problem sleeping through just about anything: noisy roommates, thunderstorms, police sirens, ambulances. I never knew that a nearly silent click was the equivalent of a nuclear bomb being set off right next door when your subconscious was well aware that there was a kid in the house.

My eyes shot open and quickly found Bella in the same state. Wide-eyed panic reflected back at me as we lay on our sides facing each other. I took a moment to assess that we were both fully clothed and then another moment to thank whatever deity was responsible for us both being too tired to do anything but go right to sleep.

"Mama," Max called quietly.

Bella didn't take her eyes from mine when she responded, "What's the matter, sweetie?"

His voice timid and small, he answered, "I had a bad dream."

When I felt the bed shift behind me, I cringed and shut my eyes as if that action alone would allow me to just disappear, or at least figure out the secret to invisibility. We hadn't really discussed how to fill him in on the fact that I sometimes—okay, _often_—spent the night, so apparently we were doing this one on the fly.

"Edward?" His voice sounded confused, justifiably so.

I stayed still, for some reason completely terrified and afraid to make any kind of move until I remembered he was just a toddler and not exactly a threat. "Yeah?"

He didn't answer right away, and the longer the silence stretched the more nervous I grew. Bella was no help at all. She hadn't moved either and was taking no initiative to intercept.

At long last he spoke, "Did you have a bad dream, too?"

I finally looked down to where he had crawled into the space between me and Bella, only to find him sitting on his knees somewhere around _our_ knees, looking back at me with concern and curiosity.

I heard Bella stifle a laugh before I answered. "Uh, yeah. Bad dream."

It was all the explanation he needed. With a decisive nod, he crawled further up the bed to rest his head on the pillow between me and Bella. She pulled the blankets up and put an arm over him as he scooted backwards, closer to her. He sighed as he relaxed into her and mumbled, "Sleeping here makes me feel better when I have bad dreams, too."

He drifted off minutes later, and I instantly relaxed. I had no idea it would be that simple. It probably shouldn't have surprised me—it wasn't like he had enough knowledge about adult relationships to make moral judgments. As much time as I spent at the house it probably seemed natural to him.

My arm stretched above Max's head, across the pillows, and I ran my fingers through Bella's hair. We just gazed at each other, not speaking a word, wrapped up in the peace and tranquility of the moment, not to mention the relief of having dodged the bullet with this conversation.

When my eyelids started to get heavy again, I pushed myself up to lean over Max to kiss her, lingering momentarily. As I moved back, I stopped to kiss Max once on the forehead before settling back into my spot and reaching my free arm over him to rest on Bella's waist. When I woke up a few hours later, none of us had moved.

It was difficult settling back into a normal work routine, but there was so much to get caught up on as well as having a number of things to work ahead on as July approached so that we could go out of town again. Bella was facing the same thing on her end with a number of shows scheduled at the various venues, requiring her to once again work odd hours so that she could pop into the venues in the evenings to make sure everything was running smoothly. It was a good thing that Max had walked in on us and we no longer felt the need to hide the fact that I was staying over, because our time together was already so limited. It was a huge relief, especially on weekends, to not have to worry about him finding us.

The downside to him being aware that I stayed over was that he popped in to 'visit' way more often, and we had to be extra cautious to make sure we were either fully clothed or the door was locked. Even knowing that he couldn't open it, hearing the jiggle of that door handle killed the mood in a nanosecond.

The days sped past in a blur, and before I knew it, we were back at the airport and on yet another plane. The steady hum in the cabin knocked Max out for most of the flight. We'd come prepared with books, crayons, and various toys but didn't need them. Even the turbulence didn't wake him.

As we taxied to the gate, Bella began to try and wake him up. "Hey, sleepyhead. We're here. Wake up."

His head lolled back and forth as he rubbed at his eyes and blinked owlishly before turning his attention to the little window he'd insisted he needed that had gone largely ignored. "Where are the clouds?" he asked.

Bella laughed. "You slept through them. We're already on the ground again."

He turned back to the window but not before I saw his features morph so that he had the saddest look on his face, like he was ready to cry. "Hey," I said and waited until he turned his attention back to me. "The clouds on the trip back are better."

"They are?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"Oh yeah," I insisted. "Way better."

A grin crossed his face finally. "I wanna sit by the window when we go home, okay?"

"Okay," Bella said with a mock salute.

When the door opened, Bella and I stood up and started gathering everything. We didn't have much with us and were near the front of the plane giving us a prime opportunity for a quick exit. "You grab the toys, I'll take the kid?" I offered, and she laughed.

"Deal," she said as she grabbed Max's small backpack and her purse.

I stood in the aisle and let Bella go first, then picked up Max who was standing on the seat figuring that carrying him would be a lot easier than trying to lead him through the narrow aisle while everyone maneuvered to get their things from the overhead bin.

As soon as we cleared the chaos of the emptying plane, I set him back down on the ground. He immediately took off running ahead.

"Freeze!" Bella called out, and he stopped, slowly turned around, and gave her a look of embarrassment, knowing he had just done something wrong.

We made it to baggage claim, where Bella took Max off to the side so he wouldn't get in the way, and I found an open space to grab our luggage. In no time at all, we were picking up a rental car and out on the road.

As we drove streets so familiar I could probably draw my own map, I occasionally turned to look at Bella and Max watching the passing scenery, and I realized that as excited as I was to have them here, it didn't feel like 'home' anymore… just a place I used to live, the place I grew up.

"Look at the big buildings!" Max yelled out excitedly from the back seat.

Bella struggled with her purse, trying to get her phone back inside after checking her messages and letting Alice know we'd arrived safely, and she laughed. "You see big buildings all the time, Max."

"But not _these_ big buildings," he said matter-of-factly.

I barked out a loud laugh, not expecting his response. "He's got you there," I said to Bella, who was biting her lip in an effort not to laugh.

"Do people live in those buildings?" Max asked, still not having taken his attention away from the window.

"Some of them," I answered as I switched lanes to pass a car and chuckled at his curiosity.

I spent the next few minutes fielding question after question about what people did if they didn't live there. It must've been one hell of a power nap he'd had on that plane, because he didn't stop talking, finding new and completely random topics of discussion, until we pulled up in front of my parents' house. Bella didn't even noticed that I got out of the car until I opened her door, too busy staring at the front of the house, clearly tense and nervous about the impending introductions. I almost teased her until I remembered doing the same thing just a couple weeks ago.

"Jeez," she said as she held her hand to her chest, startled by my appearance at her side and immediately looking embarrassed. "Sorry."

She tried to hide her nervousness, but the way she kept watching the door gave her away. I kissed her temple and whispered, "You have nothing to worry about." She immediately blushed at the knowledge that she wasn't fooling me.

She snapped out of her introspective mood when Max slapped at the window behind her. "Let me out!"

We both laughed at his pleas, and she turned to get him out of his seat while I jogged back to the trunk to get our bags. By the time I came back around to the two of them, I noticed that Bella was carrying him, holding onto him like a lifeline.

"Ready?" I asked, nodding my head in the direction of the front door. Bella simply nodded and started walking, staying a step or two behind me.

Just as we reached the steps, the door flung open and I was instantly ambushed by my mother. I couldn't begin to understand what she was saying, she was speaking so quickly. All I could do was drop our bags at my feet so that I could hug her back.

She pulled away and held her hands on each side of my face so that she could see me. "Oh, look at you. You look so _happy_." I'd almost forgotten how miserable I'd been the last time she had seen me.

I chuckled as she instantly began trying to look past me for the source, her lips pressing into a tight line as her eyes watered up forcing her to blink rapidly before pushing me to the side.

She immediately engulfed both Bella and Max in an enormous hug. I couldn't see Max, he was blocked from view, but Bella looked overwhelmed and maybe even a little frightened which only served to make me laugh loudly. "And I have you to thank."

Bella was speechless and stunned. I leaned closer and whispered loudly, "I should've warned you… my parents are huggers."

Mom let go with one arm, keeping the other around Bella's shoulder as she waved me off. "There's nothing wrong with being affectionate."

She guided Bella and Max inside the house, walking past me like she'd already forgotten I was there. I shook my head and laughed as I picked up our bags again and followed them. By the time I managed to get in and shut the door behind me, my dad already had Bella and Max in a hug of his own. I had a feeling I'd be fighting for her attention this weekend; nobody was going to leave her alone for more than two seconds.

When my dad finally remembered that Bella and Max didn't make the trip on their own, he allowed my mother to step back in to continue talking Bella's ear off so that he could come over to greet, hug, and ask me about the flight.

I was just telling him about the chaos back in Seattle where they had kept changing our gate number when I lurched forward and tried to catch myself, the weight of a person jumping onto my back throwing me off balance. In that split second, I was able to look around and see everyone accounted for standing in front of me.

"About time you got here!" the voice called out from over my shoulder and I stood straighter so she'd let go.

"A simple 'hello' wouldn't suffice?" I said with a laugh as I turned around to greet Tanya, then noticing her parents standing behind her rolling their eyes. I hadn't seen them in a couple years. They'd lived next door until they moved to Alaska when Tanya, her sister, and I were in junior high. They'd been such close friends of my parents that they were practically family.

"I didn't know you guys were going to be here this weekend," I said as I hugged Carmen.

She laughed when she pulled away. "Doesn't surprise me. Your mother's been too excited about her other guests to give us much thought," she teased. We both turned when we heard a burst of laughter, seeing Tanya fish out money and hand it to Max while Bella waved both of her hands trying to stop her.

"What's going on over here?" I asked as I neared the group of still laughing women and one semi-confused child.

"Tanya being Tanya started cursing without thinking, and Max told her he gets a dollar for each one," my mom answered, still chuckling.

Tanya shrugged, unashamed. "I gave him a twenty to call it even for the rest of the night."

"Ever think about just _not_ cursing?" I challenged.

"You have met me before, right?" she replied, looking at me like I was an idiot. "You know I have no control over it."

"I tried to tell her to take the money back," Bella mumbled. She was blushing wildly, embarrassed over the whole situation.

"Let him keep it," Eleazar interrupted as he and Carmen joined us. "I'm interested to find out if a financial penalty will actually work. We've been trying to figure out how to get her to stop for years."

Changing the subject, Mom turned to me. "I have your old room ready and the one right across the hall for Max if you want to take your bags and unpack. We have reservations for dinner in about two hours if you need to freshen up."

With a nod of my head in the direction of the stairs, I gave Bella the cue to go on ahead. She put her hands on Max's shoulders and gently directed him toward the stairs as I grabbed the bags and followed. When we reached the top, she pulled Max aside to let me through so that I could lead the way to our rooms.

I set the bags down in the hall and opened the door to the spare room and stopped. She hadn't done a total redecoration of the room, but it seemed my mother definitely had Max in mind with some of the additions she'd made since I'd last been in the house. The plaid comforter that used to cover the bed was replaced with a soccer themed one. There were even soccer ball accent pillows. In what used to be an empty corner there was now a child's table and chairs with a small stack of coloring books and a box of crayons. A couple of toy trucks sat on the floor under the window and on top of the dresser was a pile of wrapped gifts.

Max bolted past me and jumped up onto the bed. "Is this my room?" Spotting the trucks, he hopped down and started pushing them across the carpet.

Bella stepped in and looked around. "Was this room always like this?" Her voice was suspicious; she was looking for confirmation that my parents had done more than simply make sure the bed had fresh sheets.

"Nope," I answered, too surprised to elaborate. I knew Mom was excited about our visit, but I hadn't expected _this_.

Bella shook her head in disbelief. "This is too much."

"Oh, don't be silly," my mother's voice interrupted from behind us. "We're just glad to have you here. And it's been so long since we've had a little one around, you're lucky this is all there is."

Bella's eyes were glassy, and my mother was beaming. I watched as the two hugged again, whispering to one another. I knew exactly what Mom was thinking and feeling. She already adored both Bella and Max just from their phone conversations and the things I'd told her. For a few years now she had been dropping hints—or perhaps full on pleas—asking when I was going to settle down and give her grandchildren. With Max, it was like instant gratification. She didn't have to wait for the whole process of dating, marrying, then one day having kids. She had somebody to spoil from the start.

"Are these for me?" Max asked, interrupting the moment when he finally spotted the gifts that were waiting for him.

My mom just grinned. "They sure are."

"Can I open them?" Max asked Bella, his eyes wide and excited. She just laughed and nodded as she walked over to help him.

I watched as they sat on the floor, Bella rolling the paper into a ball as the pieces hit the ground like confetti as Max tore into the presents. I'd almost forgotten that my mom was there until she stepped closer and put her head on my shoulder. I looked down at her to see she was watching the scene with the same look I probably had.

After a moment she looked up at me and grinned wryly. "So, can I say 'I told you so' yet?" she asked.

I laughed as my mind instantly went back to the conversation she was referencing. She'd been so certain back on Easter that I was in love with Bella. My gaze dropped to the floor as my laughter died out. I nodded, then after a small pause, I whispered, "Yeah."

Being her frighteningly intuitive self and not needing to ask if it was something I'd admitted to Bella yet, she hugged me again and whispered, "Tell her soon." After looking back at Bella and Max one last time, she stepped out of the room to head back downstairs.

I shook my head to clear it and walked over, helping Bella to stand when I noticed her trying to get up off of the floor.

"I guess we should start getting ready, huh?" she asked, still watching Max.

"We'll be right across the hall, okay?" I said, making sure he knew where to find us.

He didn't even look up from his new stash. "Okay," he parroted back.

I tugged Bella's hand so she would follow me and led her into my old room. Something about the idea of her spending the weekend in this room made me very happy and sent my imagination running. As soon as we were inside, I shut the door and pulled her closer, running both hands slowly through her hair before leaning in to kiss her. An involuntary moan worked its way up my throat at the feel of her soft, warm lips, and when her mouth opened with a sigh, I took the opportunity to seek out her tongue with mine. The feel of her hands lightly gripping at my waist gave me goose bumps and urged me to intensify the kiss.

We moved together until the length of my body pressed hers flat against the door. We broke apart at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, both of us panting as I switched my attention to her jaw, kissing a line to her ear. Though all I wanted to do was continue this, I knew we didn't have much time so I placed one last chaste kiss on her lips and started to back away. I grinned when she pouted and relented when that 'one last' wasn't enough and she leaned forward for yet _another_ 'one last kiss' before stepping around me.

She looked around the room in confusion until I realized what she was looking for. "Oh shit, hang on. Bags are still in the hall."

She was sitting on the edge of the bed when I came back in, and she immediately unzipped the bag when I laid it down on the mattress. She dug around for a minute before pulling out a dress and assessing it for wrinkles, then an outfit for Max. After laying them out, she pulled out her toiletry bag and headed into the bathroom.

I grabbed my things and joined her a short while later. She was just finishing pulling her hair up and getting ready to start on her makeup. As much as I loved her hair down, I couldn't help but appreciate the access to her neck and shoulders I had when her hair was like this.

"I can't believe your mom did all that." She shook her head, chuckling, no doubt thinking about the surprise across the hall.

I shrugged. "She likes to play hostess, especially when it's for someone new. And you heard her… it's been a while since she had a kid she could spoil. You're lucky she held back as much as she did."

Bella's eyes locked with mine in the mirror just as she was getting read to put mascara on. "That's her holding back? Theming a whole bedroom for a weekend visit?"

"If she thought it wouldn't freak you out, she probably would've fully redecorated that room." Her eyes widened as my words sank in. Sadly, I wasn't exaggerating.

Over the next twenty minutes, she and I went about getting ready. She headed across the hall when she was finished, and after putting my socks and shoes on, I joined her.

"I'm going to head downstairs and find out what the plan is," I said as I walked around the room to pick up the scattered toys.

"You're starting to scare me, Cullen," Tanya called from the door. "You never picked up your own shiiii—crap!" Tanya grinned proudly, threw her fists in the air in celebration, and yelled, "Haha! Caught myself!" She winked at Max, who giggled at her.

I shook my head and noticed Bella chuckling. I laid the toys in my hand on the dresser only to have Tanya walk over and pick them up one by one.

"Cool, green army men," she commented.

"You like to play with army men?" Max asked, his voice spiking with each tug Bella made trying to work his dress pants up.

Tanya grinned wickedly. "Sure do. Can't pass up the chance to play with men in uniform."

"Jesus, Tanya. Tone it down, he's a kid," I chided.

She shrugged, "Exactly. He has no clue what I'm saying."

I looked over to see if Bella was upset or offended, but she wasn't giving anything away, too busy trying to get Max to hold still long enough to finish getting dressed.

"My grandpa wears a uniform. He's a policeman," Max added proudly.

I had just taken one step into the hallway when I heard Tanya say, "Is he a DILF? Oh wait, would that make him a GILF?"

I turned to tell her one last time to knock it off when Bella spoke up. "It depends. What's your opinion on 70s era pornstaches?"

Dead silence reigned for a few seconds until both girls burst into hysterical laughter. My mouth opened and closed, unable to form actual words. Deciding the best thing to do was to remove myself from the situation, I turned and went downstairs. Max would just have to fend for himself.

I walked into the kitchen and found mom cleaning up. Taking a seat at the island, I picked through the cheese and crackers that had been laid out and laughed when she swatted my hand away with a dishtowel.

"Don't fill up on that, we'll be leaving soon."

I popped a piece of cheese in my mouth and shot her my most innocent smile. She moved to stand next to me but didn't say anything right away, though I knew she wanted to. I just had to wait her out.

"They're both just so…" she trailed off.

"I know."

"I was right, wasn't I?" she asked. "You haven't told her yet?"

"Not yet," I responded as I tapped my fingers nervously on the granite.

We were both quiet for a while, and once again she tapped right into my thoughts. "It's scary, isn't it? As wonderful as it feels, it's equally as terrifying."

"I'm scared out of my mind," I admitted with a laugh.

"What frightens you the most?" she asked. I knew what she was doing, forcing me to examine everything, to work it all out in my head so that I could take that next step.

"It's just… what I feel for her… I've never felt like this before. Not even close. But then you add Max to that…" I shook my head, trying to find the words to explain.

"What about him?"

I took a deep breath to gather myself then turned in my seat to face her. "You know how everyone always says that nothing compares to the love you feel when it's your own kid?" She nodded but didn't say anything. I shifted uncomfortably on the seat, feeling wide open and exposed with this confession, even if it was my mom. "_That_ scares the shit out of me, because I can't imagine what that would be like if it's supposed to be more than what I already feel for that kid up there. I don't see how anything more is possible."

My confession was met with silence, not even a chastisement for my choice of words, but the trembling lip and watery eyes said it all. Mom launched over for yet another hug. She pulled back to look at my face, then hugged me again. By the time she let me go, we were both laughing at ourselves.

"I'm so happy for you," she whispered as she squeezed my hand once.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned around. Tanya walked in and pointed a finger at me in warning. "I like this one. Don't fuck it up."

I couldn't help but laugh again. "That was the only thing I was waiting on, your approval," I responded sarcastically then laughed louder when she flipped me off.

"I'm serious," she said.

I laughed. "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure Mom would disown me and adopt them if I did."

"In a heartbeat," Mom teased.

Bella and Max came in almost immediately after with everyone else joining a short while later. After a few minutes of making things more complicated than they needed to be, we finally settled on taking two cars to the restaurant. While everyone else continued to rehash plans for the third time, I directed Bella and Max outside hoping the rest would take the hint.

"Sorry about Tanya. I didn't know she was going to be here or I would've warned you. She can be a lot to handle." The woman had no shame, and though mostly harmless, I couldn't imagine what Bella must've been thinking.

She surprised me by chuckling. "Don't be. She kinda reminds me of an even more vulgar version of Rosalie. No guessing what she's thinking… ever."

I stood on the sidewalk while she strapped Max into the seat. By the time she finished, everyone finally decided to grace us with their presence.

I held Bella's door open, closing it behind her when she got in. Tanya walked past and took the opportunity to tease me about it. "Always such a fucking gentleman."

"Hey, it works," I shot back. "People actually appreciate manners. You should try it sometime."

She waved a dismissive hand in the air before opening the back door on the opposite side of the car. "Manners are overrated."

I jogged around and got into the car, laughing at Tanya talking to Max in the back. "It's you and me, little man."

He swung his hand out when she held hers up for a high five and giggled.

"So where's Irina?" I asked Tanya as I pulled out behind my dad's car.

I could see her roll her eyes when I looked up into the rear view mirror. "She went to London with her boyfriend for a week."

"Wait," Bella interrupted then paused in thought. "She went to England for the Fourth? England? On Independence Day? What, is she like… trying to rub it in?"

I laughed, and Tanya excitedly yelled out, "I know! I tried to explain that to her. but she didn't get it!"

The two bantered back and forth the whole ride, laughter rarely stopping. It surprised me; Tanya was a tough person to get along with and didn't have many female friends. Her whole personality was so over the top, it intimidated most women.

We were quickly led to a large table as soon as we arrived at the restaurant even though there was a decent crowd of people waiting. It was one of my parents' favorites, nice without being too stuffy, and the food was excellent. I could see Bella looking around, instantly relaxing when she noticed a few other children at other tables.

Her peace of mind didn't last long, though. We hadn't been seated more than two minutes before Max shocked us all.

"Where's my fuckin' knife?" he yelled out.

A wave of silence fell over the table, and I looked around to see open mouths and wide eyes all around. Bella looked like she was ready to start hyperventilating, glancing frantically from Max to the table.

"Tanya!" I heard Carmen whisper loudly.

"It wasn't me!" Tanya whispered right back.

Bella, in the hopes that she'd misheard, made the mistake of asking Max, "What?"

Without missing a beat, he repeated the words, enunciating each one. "Where's my fuckin' knife?"

Her head immediately dropped into her hands as she chanted a low, "Oh God, oh God, oh God."

I just kept looking around the table; nobody knew what to do. A quick glance around showed that people at neighboring tables had ceased their own conversations to turn their attention to ours, their looks a mix of shock and disapproval.

Bella picked her head up, once again looking around the table. After a few seconds she waved her hands in front of herself and shook her head with an epiphany. "_Fork_ and knife!"

"Yeah," Max said slowly as if Bella was an idiot, confused by her reaction. I looked over, and sure enough, everybody had silverware except for Max.

The whole table burst into laughter, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the restaurant. Bella once again held her head in her hands, occasionally peeking around unable to hide her smile or blush. Max giggled along, smiling proudly at making everyone laugh though he had no idea why.

I put my arm around Bella and pulled her closer. She eagerly took the opportunity to hide against my chest. I continued to chuckle as I nuzzled her hair until my lips found her ear. "Does that kid know how to make an impression or what?"

I felt her shake with laughter. "If I can survive this, the rest of the weekend should be a breeze."


	25. Game Changer

**Thanks to Beans827 & Shug!  
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EPOV

I had a hold of Bella's ankle as she tried unsuccessfully to free herself. Of course, she was laughing too hard to put up much of a fight. Her hands gripped the edge of the mattress, and she'd managed to plant one foot on the ground. I wasn't giving up, though.

"Come on, just come back to bed."

She just laughed at me, not even tempted to relent. "Everyone's awake. We should go downstairs."

We'd been hearing footsteps and muffled conversation as people passed in the hall for the past twenty minutes. I knew we would have to join them eventually or they'd come looking for us, but I wasn't in any hurry yet.

I let go of her ankle and she fell forward. I launched across the bed and grabbed her around the middle, hauling her backwards and hovering over her before she had a chance to get away.

"You don't play fair," she said, her smile contradicting her chastisement.

I closed my eyes and sighed at the feel of her fingertips threading through my hair, starting at my temples, then down around my ears, before stopping just above my neck. I lowered most of my weight onto her and dropped my forehead her to collarbone.

"Oh, I think this is very fair."

I started planting a trail of kisses and nibbles on her skin when I felt her right foot slowly trailing up my leg until she eventually hitched her own leg over.

I knew I almost had her convinced until I heard Tanya's voice right outside our door. "You better knock first, kiddo. Who knows what you'll be walking into if you don't?"

I groaned and reluctantly rolled over and away as Bella laughed and got up off the bed, opening the door seconds later.

"Help me out—should I be impressed that you can get dressed that fast or disappointed that you didn't need that particular skill?"

"Don't you have an off button somewhere?" I called across the room in hopes that Tanya would tone it down for once. Max ran over and jumped on the bed, so I picked him up and tossed him onto his back before cocooning him in blankets. His giggles filled the room as he fought to find his way out.

"Guess you'll just have to use your imagination," I heard Bella tell Tanya before shutting the door with a laugh and walking over to tickle Max who was still tangled and fighting for escape.

Twenty minutes later the three of us finally found ourselves in the kitchen where Mom had overdone things yet again. I laughed at Bella's widened eyes as she took in all of the food laid out.

"Did she even sleep?" she whispered to me as she eyed the mountain of muffins and scones in the middle of the table, then looked over to see my mother cooking up a storm at the stove.

"I told you—she likes to play hostess. She's in her element."

I pulled Bella behind me to walk over and take a seat at the island as Mom motioned for Max to join her. Dad hefted him up onto the counter so that he was sitting far enough away from the stove that he wouldn't get hurt but still close enough to be part of the process.

"So what kind of pancakes do you like, Max?" Mom asked as she flipped one in the pan. "We have regular, banana… " She trailed off and looked around before leaning closer and whispering loudly, "… chocolate chip."

Max's face lit up, and he glanced over at Bella who simply looked at him wide-eyed, pressing her lips together giving the impression he was about to get away with something he wasn't supposed to. He giggled and looked back at my mother and nodded.

"Chocolate chip it is," she announced.

Bella and I sat at the island so that we could talk to my parents when Tanya walked in with an evil look on her face and hiding something behind her back.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a heavy dose of suspicion. She was walking sideways to prevent me from seeing what she had.

She slipped onto the stool next to Bella before she answered, "Nothing at all."

Before I could respond, she slid a photo album in front of Bella. It was a photo album I knew all too well.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," I blurted.

My parents both turned around and started laughing. Mom stopped long enough to say, "I thought that was supposed to be my job!"

"Would you like to do the honors?" Tanya asked, motioning to the still closed album.

"No, no. You go right ahead and get started," she responded as she turned back to the stove. "I'll chime in when I have something to add.

Bella looked up at me, trying to hide her smile, her eyes asking for permission. I simply accepted defeat with a nod. As if we didn't have enough of an audience for my humiliation, Carmen and Eleazar walked in and joined us.

Bella grinned widely and flipped open to the first page. It didn't start out too bad—the standard mile-marker portraits, requisite series of birthday parties during the toddler years. Max heard 'Halloween costumes' and abandoned the idea of helping with breakfast, forcing my dad to help him off the counter and bring him over. Hey, at least someone appreciated the Ninja Turtles.

It was the introduction of my awkward pre-teen years that really made me cringe.

"God, look at those bird legs," Tanya pointed out as she snorted with laughter.

I looked over to see my mother shaking her head, laughing. "You must've grown six inches that summer."

"If you'd have worn pink you would've looked like a flamingo!" Tanya cackled.

"Have I thanked you lately for making sure I was an only child?" I asked my parents, causing them to laugh harder.

Bella rubbed her hand up and down my arm in a soothing gesture before she pointed to Tanya standing next to me in the picture. "Love the crimped hair."

Tanya sobered while everyone else laughed louder.

After a few seconds, she laughed too. "I love that you aren't afraid of me."

Mom's laugh trailed off into soft chuckles before she decided to come to my rescue but only embarrassing me further. "Bird legs or no, the girls loved you and you grew up to bet a very handsome man."

Noting how awkward I felt, Tanya squeezed my upper arm in an attempt to tease me even more. "Yeah, what's this? Finally figure out how to use a weight bench?"

"Bella has a gym in her house," I answered indifferently. I wasn't self-conscious by nature, but I wasn't exactly comfortable sitting around listening to women discuss my appearance.

"That's why he keeps me around," Bella said with a sigh.

I looked over to see a wry grin which I quickly matched. "Yeah. Saves me a fortune on gym fees."

"Edward!" Mom chastised, and I looked over to see her pointing the spatula at me in warning.

"Hey!" I held my hands up in surrender. "She started it!"

Bella laughed and turned her attention back to the pictures in front of her. I leaned in and whispered loudly, "I can't believe you got me in trouble," causing her to laugh even more.

We finally made it through the album around the time breakfast was ready, and after we thoroughly gorged ourselves, I took Bella and Max out to see a few sights. We avoided most of the typical tourist destinations since they'd inevitably be packed due to the holiday weekend. It'd be nearly impossible to enjoy with so many people around and gave me an excuse to bring them back another time.

By the time we made it back late that afternoon, Max was exhausted and crashed moments after his head hit the pillow for a nap. Mom immediately monopolized Bella so I caught the end of the baseball game that Dad and Eleazar were watching.

"Hey, did anyone make plans for fireworks tomorrow?" I asked, hoping for a negative response.

"Not that I'm aware of," Dad answered before interrupting himself to yell at the screen. "You two should take Max."

I grinned at how easily things were falling into place. "That's why I was asking. I wanted to take them out to watch from the lake."

He finally turned his attention to me. "I see how it is—you want my boat but the rest of us aren't invited."

"Glad you understand," I responded, causing him to laugh loudly.

When the game was over, I went in search of Bella to make sure she was hanging in there. She seemed comfortable enough around Mom, but I didn't want to completely abandon her. I found them in the kitchen where Mom was doing prep work for tomorrow and had enlisted Bella's help in cutting vegetables as they talked.

I stood in the doorway to watch and listen, happy with how easily Bella fit in.

"He's just so well-behaved. He's like a little adult," Mom said.

"He is. I see some of the kids he goes to pre-school with and feel like I hit the lottery. He has his moments for sure, but he listens for the most part. He has been around adults more than kids, though, so that probably has something to do with it."

I stepped into the room and joined them, kissing Bella on the cheek, causing her to blush, before I stole a carrot stick and sat next to her.

Pretty much ignoring my interruption—aside from a knowing smile—Mom continued the line of conversation. "You've really done a wonderful job though."

"Thanks," Bella said, ducking her head and blushing some more. I rubbed her back soothingly and noticed her hesitate. "It doesn't always feel like that."

"What?" I asked, completely caught off-guard. She always seemed so confident, like she fit the role perfectly.

I glanced up at Mom, who appeared sympathetic. She reached over and placed her hand over Bella's. "We've all felt that way."

Clearly, this was a conversation that I wasn't designed to understand. Bella looked over at me and forced a smile, the conversation seeming to make her feel vulnerable.

She looked back down in front of her and picked the knife up to resume cutting. "It was especially hard at first. I had no idea what to do and was sure I doing it all wrong. I had people that were willing to help, but I hated calling in favors for every little thing. I can't even count how many times he would cry, then I would cry because I couldn't figure out how to get him to stop."

Bella and Mom both chuckled, and I was more certain than ever this was something I'd never understand—it sounded so heartbreaking, not something to find humor in, even years later.

"Well, you were obviously on the right track—he's absolutely precious."

Bella blushed yet again. "Thank you. It wasn't easy doing it alone, but it was better than forcing someone to be there who didn't want any part of it," she said. "Max deserved better than to have a court-ordered father."

Mom saw the opening and leaped. "Does Max know anything about his father? Has he asked?"

I was ready to jump in and stop her, horrified by this new line of questioning, but apparently Bella had no qualms about discussing it. I was actually curious about this myself but never knew how to bring it up.

"No, he doesn't really know anything. I have no intentions of lying to him, but he doesn't really need to know much right now. I saved a couple pictures and things and put them away just in case he gets curious when he gets older, but so far he doesn't really understand. Actually, it didn't even occur to him that he was missing a father until he started pre-school and noticed some of the dads around."

"How did that go?" Mom asked.

"Pretty well, actually. He was very matter-of-fact about it and asked why some kids had a dad. More curious than anything… certainly not accusing. Just trying to piece the differences together."

Mom lowered herself to her elbows on the other side of the island. "What did you say to him?"

Bella laid the knife down on the cutting board in front of her before she started speaking. "There are a couple other children of single parents in his class, so I pointed that out first, then just explained that not all kids have a mom and a dad and that not all grown-ups are ready to be parents. I deliberately avoided any mention of how that relates or doesn't relate to the kids—it seemed like it would draw too much attention if I tried to assure that it isn't because of the child."

Mom nodded her agreement. "Has he asked again?"

"No," Bella answered. "He just said, 'oh, okay,' and never brought it up again." She shook her head and laughed at Max's easy acceptance.

The entire conversation gave me a whole new perspective on her, and it only served to magnify what I was already feeling. The serious conversation came to a screeching halt when Carmen and Tanya rolled through with a clatter, carrying shopping bags that I wouldn't be surprised to find weighed more than their bodies.

When Tanya announced, rather than ask, that we were going out that night, Bella hesitated, but Mom insisted that we go. I could already see the wheels spinning in her head on all the ways she could entertain Max for the evening.

After dinner, we went back upstairs to freshen up. Bella changed Max into his pajamas before we all headed downstairs. I couldn't help but laugh at my parents in their most ridiculous pajamas, a stack of movies, and a massive bowl of popcorn ready and waiting for Max. He ran over and hopped up onto the couch between them, insisting he'd hold the popcorn. If the bowl was any bigger, he wouldn't have been able to see over it.

We said our goodbyes and followed Tanya to the cab waiting for us out front. Two hours later were all sitting at the bar, just a shade past tipsy, when Tanya decided she wasn't finished trying to humiliate me.

"You're buying the next round, chicken legs!" she yelled out.

I glared at her, but it must not have been too menacing based on the laughter it incited from both her and Bella. At least it earned an apologetic kiss from Bella.

"Seriously," Tanya said as she leaned toward Bella. "You saw the picture. And yet… somehow… the girls in our class were falling all over themselves to get his attention."

"Laugh it up," I said. "I remember you being one of them."

As soon as the words slipped out of my mouth I regretted drinking my brain-to-mouth filter away. Probably not a good topic to bring up with Bella sitting right there in front of me, her back to my chest as I stood behind her with my arm wrapped around her waist. But before I could change the subject and pretend I hadn't said anything, Tanya ran with it.

"Yeah, whatever. It was never about you—I thought I could piss off the other girls if I could bend you to my will." She waved a hand in the air dismissively as she finished her drink. "I gave up on that pretty damn quick, you have to admit." She paused for a second. "Although…"

Her tone of voice concerned me. "Although?" I urged her to finish that thought.

"Although… if you talk to any of my old friends from high school, we had a four year love affair."

Her words were hurried, and I spluttered, "What? What the hell are you talking about? We never—"

"Calm the fuck down," Tanya said as she accepted a new drink from the bartender. "When you guys would come up to Alaska to visit, all the girls would practically count down to your arrival. I sure as hell didn't want you, but I didn't want any of them to have you, either."

She said it like it was the most natural explanation in the world. "But you had boyfriends up there!"

"I know," she said, laughing and slapped her hand on the bar a few times. "They all thought I was cheating on you with them. You made me pretty damn popular without even realizing it."

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse…

I didn't know whether to be relieved or offended when Bella started laughing hysterically, tears falling from her eyes, and gasping for breath. It certainly wasn't the kind of reaction I was expecting. Every girl I'd ever dated had been intimidated as hell by Tanya just being herself, and the conversations had never come close to this level of lunacy. It seemed Tanya finally met her match, and judging by the way she too was crying through her laughter and hanging off of Bella, she was more than okay with that.

That conversation could've easily sent any girl into a tailspin of self-consciousness, but not Bella. It made me see how secure she was with not only herself, but in our relationship, as well, to hear all of that and not be even remotely bothered by it.

When Tanya started trying to describe my 'moves' when trying to impress girls as a teen, I took the opportunity to search for a restroom before I could be any further humiliated. I wasn't gone long, but it was apparently long enough for someone to try and move in on my spot.

The lighthearted mood of the night was washed away the instant I realized who was standing by Bella. I quickened my pace and couldn't help but notice the way Bella's eyes rolled, unimpressed.

"Shoo," I heard Tanya instruct then illustrate with a dismissive wave of a hand. "Not interested."

Without a word I stepped up and slid next to Bella to create a barrier.

"Cullen! Well, you're about the last person I expected to see in here."

His voice was falsely friendly but I wasn't going to play his game. "James."

Bella's head swung around to look at me upon hearing the name, understanding immediately who he was. The action drew his attention back to her.

"So then that means you must be Isabella Swan?"

I made a move to put myself between him and her, but he simply stepped to the side to see her better. I was tense, on the defensive, until she wrapped a hand around my arm and slid it down to my hand. She twined her fingers with mine and tugged lightly, trying to get me to calm down a bit.

"How do you know my name?" she asked suspiciously.

He chuckled and thought for a moment before answering. "Word around the office from people he's kept in touch with… your name mentioned in a handful of trade publications… you know, that sort of thing."

"Huh," she responded noncommittally and reached for her drink, effectively ending the conversation.

"Big happy reunion time is over, asshole, now scram," Tanya ordered and laughed at the glare James shot at her.

Bella tugged on my hand again until I looked at her. "Hey, this is a pretty big city… why don't you show me some other places you used to hang out. I don't want to spend the whole night in one bar when we're limited on time as it is."

She knew exactly how to defuse the situation, and I adored her for it.

Tanya hopped up from her seat. "Good thinking. We've already wasted too much prime drinking time on this douche." With that, she grabbed her purse and Bella's other hand before pulling us away in train formation.

I heard James laugh and yell out, "See you later!" but the tightening of Bella's hand on mine was enough to ignore it.

Our late night led to a late morning. I was sound asleep until I head Bella mumble, "Ugh, I smell like a bar," before she rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom.

I managed to encourage one eye to open long enough to focus on the alarm clock to see that it was already eleven. People would be showing up at the house at any time if they hadn't already started trickling in. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to enjoy it for about five seconds before willing myself out of bed.

In a copycat move, I, too, stumbled to the bathroom. When I stepped into the shower, Bella turned around, grimacing. "No touchy."

I chuckled when she turned around, then cringed at the shooting pain in my head. This would be a purely functional shared shower since it appeared neither of us had quite recovered from the previous night's barhopping.

When we made it downstairs, we were almost immediately separated. Max was already playing in the yard with the other kids, so Mom led Bella around to meet family friends—my presence deemed unnecessary during these introductions—while a few people pulled me aside to ask about my new job and how I liked Seattle.

When I found Bella again, she was sitting next to my dad outside. My parents' place had a small yard—rare in this neighborhood—but thanks to the magic of landscaping and proper distribution of lawn furniture, they made it look and feel much larger.

I walked over and took a seat next to Bella while they continued their conversation. Dad appeared to be quizzing Bella about her job. "So do you guys own the arena and outdoor pavilion?"

"No," Bella responded, shaking her head for emphasis. "All of our venues are small. When we book larger acts, we rent out the big venues."

"And they let you do that? They don't consider you to be competition?"

"It works well for everybody," she explained. "They can still make a profit on shows they otherwise wouldn't have been able to book, and we can land contracts for tours that are much larger than our standard capacity."

"Interesting. Never would've thought of it that way."

Bella turned to me then. "So… you didn't tell me your dad was a Parrot Head."

Her eyes were crinkled in laughter, and I groaned. I can only imagine how much of her time he must've wasted singing Jimmy Buffett's praises.

"If there's a Margaritaville wherever they vacation, he drags Mom in every time. He has a whole collection of shirts."

"Hey," Dad interrupted, offended. "She happens to like it there."

I stood up, taking Bella's hand so she'd follow, then braced my free hand on Dad's shoulder before giving him a serious look. "No, Dad. She doesn't. She tolerates it just for you."

He looked taken aback, and I laughed loudly before pulling Bella into the house so I could have a few minutes alone with her. She started to let go of my hand and walk away as soon as we stepped inside so I tightened my grip and pulled her back to me. "Hey, hey. Where are you going?"

"Just give me a minute," she said before taking off out of the room. She came back in a few minutes later on the phone. She pulled it a couple inches away from her mouth before asking, "What's the address here?"

"Why do you need the address?"

"I'll tell you in a minute."

I gave her the address, and she repeated it into the phone. She thanked the person on the other end of the line before saying goodbye and hanging up.

"Now do you wanna tell me what's going on?" I asked.

She looked around to make sure nobody was nearby before stepping closer and wrapping her arms around my waist. "Your dad said they were out of town when tickets went on sale for this summer's tour and his only hope of going is a scalper. I called Marcus who works for the booking agency, and he's FedExing a couple tickets when he gets back to the office."

I was stunned silent for a moment that she would do something like that—call in a favor on a holiday—for my parents whom she'd just met. "You do realize there's a good chance my dad will leave my mom for you when he finds out, right?"

She laughed and hugged me tighter.

"No, really," I said. "I'm too old to come from a broken home, and I really don't want to have to fight my own father for you."

She continued to laugh, and I leaned down to kiss her. "Thank you," I mumbled against her lips. She responded by deepening the kiss.

Late in the afternoon, we managed to extricate ourselves from the festivities, and I ushered Bella and Max to the car. After a good bit of work on my part while fielding a litany of questions from Max about every step of the process, we were on my parents' boat out on the lake.

I practically grew up on the water—we'd gone through a number of boats over the years between putting a lot of wear and tear on them and Dad's need for constant upgrades. Summers on the lake were such a huge part of my childhood, and here I was, getting to share a little of that with Bella and Max.

I could see so much of myself in Max: the way he laughed and urged me to go faster, squealed when the boat would bounce across the water after cutting over another boat's wake, or giggle and cover his face when the spray of water would hit. It was one of those moments that didn't need a camera—I knew I'd never forget a single detail.

When the sun finally started to set, we found a good spot to idle for the fireworks then dug into the cooler full of snacks.

"Can we do that again?" Max asked, his wide eyes hopeful.

I laughed. "We're leaving tomorrow. Maybe if we come back another time," I offered and surreptitiously looked over at Bella, hoping I wasn't being too presumptuous.

"Can we come back?" Max asked her. "I wanna come back."

"We'll see," Bella responded, smiling at him.

Max moved from one side to the next, in constant motion, checking everything out. "This is so much better than Grandpa's boat," he announced.

Bella shook her head and laughed. "That's because the only thing keeping Grandpa's boat from sinking is a prayer."

Max didn't acknowledge Bella's remark, too busy trying to look over the edge into the water, the angle causing the shoulders of his little lifejacket to push up to his ears.

Night fell, and dozens of other boats joined us on the water. Max narrated nearly the entire fireworks display, sure to instruct us to 'look at that one' as though there was even the slightest chance we would miss it.

The three of us had curled up together, and when the fireworks were over, nobody bothered to move, perfectly content to stay in this bubble rather than follow the rush of boats heading back to shore. Max slowly faded until he'd fallen into a deep sleep, and I helped Bella lay him down to try to make him as comfortable as possible.

I moved to a seat farther away so that we wouldn't wake him and pulled Bella to sit sideways on my lap. She rested her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arms around her as we both stared off into the distance. The reflection of the cityscape against the blackness of the water seemed to mesmerize us both.

She moved her head a bit, and I turned to look at her. Our eyes locked, and a thousand emotions passed between us. Our wordless conversation stretched indefinitely, and I knew what I needed to tell her. I just didn't know how. The first word spoken would shatter the meaningful silence, and nothing I could think of seemed good enough to do so.

She took a deep breath, held it for a second, then let it go. She started looking around, never straying too far from my face but not looking directly at me for any length of time. Occasionally her mouth would open a fraction of an inch before closing. It was clear that she wanted to say something, and she seemed to grow more and more agitated the longer she hesitated.

She finally sat a little straighter and turned to face me more directly. I tightened my arms around her to pull her closer as she wrapped her arms around my neck and dropped her forehead to mine.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?"

She was quiet for a moment as she decided how to answer. "Everything."

The word hung there for a few seconds before she continued. "I just… I'd given up on the idea of any of this being possible. And not just for me, but Max, too. There aren't that many men out there that would bother with me knowing that he was part of the deal—"

"I'm sure that's not true," I interrupted.

"But it is. I lived it. Hell, I _relied_ on it for years. Every time we'd go out and someone—usually Alice—tried to find a guy for me, I'd figure out a way to bring Max up in conversation as quickly as possible. And they bolted… every single time. And that's what I wanted, sure… but it still messes with a girl's head when you take it out of that context. I had more than my fair share of moments wondering what was going to happen when I finally felt like I was ready."

I couldn't take my eyes off of her though she couldn't bring herself to look at me while she spoke. "And then you show up and throw my world completely off-balance. I'd resigned myself to either being alone for the rest of my life or settling for someone that I maybe cared about somewhat. I had given up on the idea of ever finding someone that I would… fall I love with…"

Her last words were quiet, barely a whisper, and if we had been anywhere but in the middle of the still silence of the night I would've missed them. But I didn't. Instead I crushed my mouth to hers and caught her by surprise. I laughed and started mumbling against her lips, unwilling to separate. "Bella, I love you." She pulled back, confusion or maybe surprise written on her face. "I've been sitting here for the past twenty minutes trying to figure out how to tell you and you beat me to it."

"You have?" she asked, voice colored in disbelief.

I chuckled. "Actually, to be completely honest I've been trying to figure it out for days… maybe weeks. Hell, I don't know."

She started laughing and sobbing at once, tears rolling down her cheeks, and I wiped them away with my thumbs before kissing her again.

"I've been wanting to tell you," she said quietly, "I just didn't know how. I… I guess I was afraid."

She seemed upset with herself for her admission. I knew she was afraid of the vulnerability that came along with an admission that huge and that it really had nothing to do with me personally. There was no reason to question her or force her to talk about it, so instead I wrapped my hand around her neck to pull her mouth to mine.

We continued trading kisses and I love yous until it was time to head back to shore. Now that the words were out there, it was nearly impossible to let go of her, and she seemed to feel the same. For the first time that night I questioned my decision to watch the fireworks from the lake. Had I known it would take this turn I probably would've opted for something that didn't require so much of my attention to be diverted from her.

We were both still so keyed up when we made it back to the house. Max didn't come close to waking up during the transfer from boat to dock, dock to car, or car to house. I carried him into his room, and Bella quickly changed him into pajamas. After whispered goodnights and kisses to his forehead, we made our way across the hall.

I motioned for Bella to go in first then locked the door behind me. She turned as soon as she heard the click, but neither of us moved, frozen, the intensity of the moment building exponentially with each passing second. Without thinking, I closed the distance between us in three quick strides, then lifted her as I caught her lips with mine. Instinctually, she wrapped her legs around my waist, hands in my hair, as I walked us both to the bed where we tumbled in a heap onto the mattress.

It wasn't at all graceful, but neither of us seemed to care. Hands searched and mouths moved frantically until I pushed against her and she pulled her head away.

"We can't," she whispered breathlessly. "There are too many people around."

Her arms and legs tightened around me, contradicting her words but not nearly as much as the soft moan when I pushed against her again.

I kissed, licked, and nibbled my way across her collarbone, enjoying the conflict between what she really wanted and what her logical side was trying to argue knowing which would win in the end.

"They're asleep. They wouldn't care anyway." Her breath shook and her body trembled as I worked my way up her neck before stopping at her ear. My hand moved to the hem of her tank, pushing it up only an inch—just enough to lightly brush my fingers against her skin. A tease. "We can be quiet. Just let me love you."

Her only response was a nod just before I pushed the tank up as far as it would go. She sat up enough for me to pull it over her head, and she scrambled to remove my shirt. The intensity returned, and in what seemed like seconds, our clothes were nothing more than a pile of fabric on the floor, long forgotten in our quest to touch, taste, and explore.

Endeavoring to stay as quiet as possible directed our actions, compelling us to take things slow, which only served to amplify every little detail. Each time with her had been magnificent, but this time—with a new label added to our feelings—it was nothing short of life-altering when our bodies finally fused together.

She held onto me with such need and desperation, and I knew I was projecting the same. I lost count of how many times we whispered "I love you"—it was as if we were trying to make up for all the times we had wanted to say it but held back.

When she finally fell apart, I couldn't hold back any longer and fell right along with her. And when sleep finally overtook us a little while later, my last thoughts were of how three seemingly simply words had cemented my entire future, because I knew, without a doubt, there was nothing else for me. I had disappeared from this city just a few short months ago, trying to escape the parade of dead ends I had been facing for years only to find perfection.


	26. Good or Bad

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******Thanks to Beans827 and Shug for getting this chapter back so quickly!  
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BPOV

Falling back into a routine was more than welcome. The stress of having to squeeze work into small time frames had passed, and I could relax again, finally. Even though this was our busiest time of year and my work hours were far from standard business hours, it was what I loved. It was second nature for me, and I thrived on the chaos of one show after another.

"Ow! Damn it! Knock it off!"

I laughed but ignored Emmett's demand. I was simply biding my time. The guys went back on air, and Emmett stopped constantly looking over his shoulder to catch me in the act. I lined up my shot and let loose, laughing silently when he flinched on impact.

A minute later, he flipped the mics off and played a block of music before turning around to glare at me. He reached for a wayward rubber band and attempted to fling it in my direction, missing by a mile and making me laugh even harder.

"How in the hell do you do this?" he grumbled as he struggled with another before sending it flying at least thirty degrees off the direction he was aiming.

He had tried to embarrass me when I came in, but at this point I couldn't remember what it was he had said that had set me off on this childish display of revenge. It was nothing new; in fact I kept a stash of rubber bands in the drawer in the credenza just for this purpose.

Edward walked over and leaned against the credenza, picking up a rubber band and inspecting it as if there were something special about it. It was all skill, thank you very much.

"So, really… how do you do it?" he asked quietly as he lined up a shot, aiming for Jasper's now empty chair, and watched the trajectory send the rubber band way off its mark. "Shit. Seriously, you haven't missed yet."

I looked over to see Emmett watching intently, waiting to see if I'd finally reveal my secret. I simply waved sarcastically, and he rolled his eyes and turned back to the monitors to prepare to go back on air solo to run through the news.

"You've got it backwards," I said quietly as I watched Edward loop the rubber band over his index finger and pull back. I took one from my pile, held it between my finger and thumb and let it dangle. "You have to hold it like this, find the center, then push out with your index finger so that both sides are pulled evenly. If one side's tighter than the other, it'll curve off to the side."

It was a very simple solution, and always obvious once it was brought to light, but it seemed few people thought to do it that way. Emmett flipped the mic back off and adjusted a few things in the log as I watched Edward follow my instructions, take aim at Emmett, and let go.

"Sonofabitch!"

Edward and I both roared with laughter as Emmett's hand flew up to massage the back of his head before he turned around to glare at me. I simply pointed at Edward to redirect the blame.

Emmett's facial expression went from irritated to pitiful. "Aww, man. You told him? I've been asking you for how many years, but _nooo_… I can't believe you told him!"

"All part of my master plan to annoy the hell out of you. Now he can take over in my absence when I have to go do real work."

Edward laughed and leaned over to kiss my temple. "I'll be sure to make you proud, baby." He lined up another shot, Emmett still paying no attention to technique but managing to duck out of the way when the rubber band hurtled in his direction.

With lost time made up for annoying Emmett, I gave him a reprieve and headed to my office to get some work done since I'd be leaving early to check on a couple of the venues. The day passed all too quickly, and after verifying that we were all set and on top of our game, ready for the influx of shows that we would be nailed with this week, I finally headed home and grinned when I saw Edward's car in my garage. It should have felt routine by now, as he was nearly a permanent fixture in my house and on nights I had to work later than usual like this one, he insisted on picking Max up next door so they could have 'male bonding time' until I brought my 'girl cooties'—Max's words—home.

As usual, I found them in the backyard. Max was running through the sprinkler, laughing and giggling each time the cold water would hit him before running back outside the reach of the spray. Edward stayed a safe distance away, turning down Max's requests to join him and laughing off his insistence that it was 'so much fun.'

I chuckled as Max ran at him full force, intent on soaking him with the little amount of water he'd collected in a small cup from his bag of swim toys. Edward laughed and retreated, moving slow enough to let Max think he stood a chance of catching him. Neither had noticed me yet, so I slipped back into the house and headed straight for the downstairs closet that held the rest of Max's summer toys.

It didn't take long before I found what I was looking for, and after a quick stop in the kitchen, I headed back to the door to the yard and tiptoed across the patio, stepped onto the grass, and took aim.

An arc of ice cold water splashed across Edward's back causing him to gasp and catch himself from completing a swear in front of Max, who still hadn't seen me and was confused by Edward's reaction. Edward turned, eyes wide in shock, before he shook his head and smirked.

I still held the gun up, ready to defend myself, but that didn't seem to bother him. He stalked slowly in my direction with a smirk on his face, and to be honest, I was a little worried.

"Tank's full," I said as I nodded toward the water well on the gun.

He shrugged but didn't slow. "I'm already wet, no point in trying to stay dry now."

My eyes widened when I realized he meant it, and I took a couple steps back to maintain distance and keep myself out of arm's reach. He continued to advance, so I half-heartedly threatened, "I'm serious."

"So am I."

I pumped the gun full of air but he didn't stop, so I pulled the trigger and soaked the front of his shirt. He was closing in on me so, in panic, I dropped the gun and took off into a run. I didn't make it very far when I felt him grab me around the waist and lift my feet off of the ground as I screamed in surprise.

He turned us and carried me toward the middle of the yard, Max laughing as he followed us. I started struggling when I realized where he was headed.

"No, no, no! Put me down!"

"Not a chance," he said as he somehow contorted his body in such a way as to cause my legs to fly up into the air just enough that he could get the arm not locked around me waist to grab onto my legs and secure them, preventing my escape.

"No, really," I pled. "The water's cold."

"Yeah," he scoffed. "I know."

Closer and closer we moved, and I went from trying to free myself to holding onto him tightly as if that action would prevent the water from completely drenching me. I gasped audibly when the first shot of water soaked my body, and I once again started fighting.

"Cold!" I yelled. "So cold."

"Teach you to mess with me," he teased as he laughed at my reaction. Once my clothes were thoroughly saturated, he put me on the ground, but before he could step out of the way, I noticed that, although he was now fairly wet, it was nowhere near what I was dealing with. I planted my heels and locked my hands around his wrists and pulled him back into the spray.

I could feel him trying to pull back with as much force as he could without knocking me off balance and sending me tumbling to the ground.

"Don't worry, I'll help you, Mama!" Max yelled, and I almost lost my grip when I started laughing at the sight of Max pushing the back of Edward's legs in an attempt to force him forward. When he twisted his little body to put a shoulder into the effort I really did lose it and slipped, falling to the wet and muddy grass. The sudden movement brought Edward with me, and since Edward was the only thing keeping Max upright, he came tumbling down as well.

The three of us sprawled on the grass, laughing, and continuing to get absolutely soaked since we were all well within the sprinkler's range. When I finally composed myself and found my footing, I headed toward the house, kicking my shoes off at the door in a hopeless attempt to not track mud and water across the floors.

After patting myself as dry as possible, I took some towels outside, stopping to clean up the bigger puddles on my way back.

"You know, I wasn't planning to shower til the morning," I grumbled.

Edward looked over at Max then back at me. "Too bad we can't share one," he said quietly, an inch from my lips; if the pressure of his mouth against mine hadn't distracted me, I was sure I would've blushed.

By the time we broke apart, Max had the Supersoaker and was taking aim at us. "Don't you dare!" I warned, my index finger in the air for emphasis.

Max turned, acting as if he hadn't just intended to soak us, and started emptying the well of the gun randomly across the lawn. I turned back to Edward, watching him run the towel back and forth over his head trying to dry his hair. "If you want to go ahead, I'm just going to toss him into the tub now."

He leaned over to give me a quick kiss. "See you in a few minutes."

I managed to extricate the gun from Max's over-excitable hands and wrangle him into the house and eventually into the tub. As soon as he was in his pajamas, he took off to find Edward, and I rushed to my own bathroom so that I could get out of my wet clothes and into a hot shower.

The warm water felt magnificent, and I allowed myself a few more minutes than normal just to enjoy the heat. By the time I was dressed and made my way downstairs, Max and Edward had already raided the menu drawer in the kitchen.

"Hope you want pizza," Edward announced when I walked in. He smiled crookedly and winked before continuing, "If you don't, too bad. You're outvoted."

"I see how it is," I said, trying to sound perturbed. "My opinion counts for nothing anymore."

"Sounds about right, don't you think, Max?" He looked down warmly at Max who grinned and yelled out, "Yep!"

I walked to the refrigerator for something to drink and announced my request. "Get banana peppers on it for me."

"Eww. No peppers," Max contested. It was hard not to laugh at the scrunch of his nose.

"Yes peppers," I argued as I walked over and kissed his still wrinkled-up nose. "And I'm gonna make you eat them all."

"Huh uh," he said as he shook his head in disgust. "Gross."

We spent a quiet evening on the couch after attacking the pizza—half with peppers—before Max crashed for the night. When I came back downstairs after taking him to bed, I was confused to see that Edward was no longer in the living room where I'd left him. I checked the kitchen then glanced at the downstairs bathroom to see that the door was open and the light was out before I saw a light coming from my office. When I got to the door, Edward had his back to me, looking at something, and I just stood there and admired him. At least, until he turned when he heard me and I saw what he had in his hands.

"Oh my God," I mumbled as I sped across to try and stop him.

He laughed at my reaction and held his hand in the air so I couldn't reach. "I figure it's only fair."

His eyes met mine in challenge and after a few seconds, I relented with a frustrated growl. "Fine!"

I tried to walk away, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me with him to the couch. I cringed when he opened the scrapbook to the first page. It was a picture of me and Alice, not long after I returned home. Max had a traditional baby book, but this scrapbook was a chronicle of the changes in my life that Alice had put together. I had questioned myself constantly back then, so every experience had been jaded by lack of faith in myself. Alice had collected photographs, clippings, and stories to prove to me that I made the right decision and that even though it was hard, it was still the most wonderfully amazing time of my life.

Edward must've noticed my melancholy, because he looked over and reached up to run the back of his fingers down my cheek. "Hey," he said softly. "I can put this back if you're not comfortable. I don't need to see it."

I shook my head. "It's okay. I just haven't looked at it in a while. It's tough to look at sometimes, but I want you to see it."

He looked at me for a while to make sure I meant what I said. I nodded to let him know I really was okay, and he focused back on the page.

"So this is from when you moved back?"

Not that I minded telling him every little detail, but I hoped he didn't ask questions about every picture—I wasn't sure I could make it through without tears of every kind if I had to try and explain it all.

"Yeah. It starts right around the time I came back and ends when Max was born."

He flipped the page and quietly studied each picture. The very early ones were just me and Alice with an occasional appearance by Charlie. A few pages in, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper started showing up. There was, quite literally, growth with every page, and as I got bigger and bigger in the photographs, I grew more and more uncomfortable wondering what Edward was thinking. I stole a few glances, afraid of anything lasting longer, but he didn't seem upset or repulsed. Some of the shots weren't exactly the most flattering. He just continued to examine and flip through, handling each page gently.

When we finally reached the pages that visually related the day Max was born, I began fidgeting with my hands, unable to sit still. I chanced another look, too curious as he lingered on the first picture of me and Max ever taken, to see him smiling tenderly. The next pages were full of individual pictures of everybody holding him—the gang, Charlie, Renee—with the last being a group shot with all of us.

"I wish I'd been there," he said so quietly I wasn't sure it was intended for me to hear. But I did, and I wondered about the meaning behind it. I could've been reading way too much into it, but it seemed like a wish that it had been him, that we had somehow found each other years ago and that instead of spending all that time fighting a legal battle with an uninterested father, we could've appreciated these moments together.

I tried to discretely wipe away a tear, but he caught me and leaned over to kiss me. "I love you."

I sniffled and rested my head on his shoulder. "Love you, too."

He wrapped one arm around me and pulled me closer to his side as he flipped the page again to the day Max came home and started laughing at the lack of space in Max's first bedroom due to all of the stuffed animals, gadgets intended to make my life easier still in boxes because in actuality they were a pain in my ass, and a closet full of clothes in the background.

"Ah, so he's always been spoiled," he joked.

"I have my work cut out for me making sure he just stays spoiled and doesn't morph into a spoiled brat." I laughed, thinking about my early pleas for Alice to stop buying things every time she went out.

He flipped the scrapbook closed, and we were both silent for a while. I was growing uncomfortable with the quiet and tried to make a joke. "Sorry, Renee has all the truly blackmail-worthy stuff… you'll just have to wait for her if you want to get even."

He turned his head to look at me before pulling me until I straddled his lap. My arms immediately wrapped around his neck, and I buried my face in his neck as his arms tightened around my back. We didn't need any words, we just needed each other, even in this most innocent of ways. Being held so tenderly after baring the memories of my most vulnerable moments was significantly more intimate than anything I'd ever experienced. My astonishment over his continued acceptance of me and Max escalated every day.

I woke up in bed hours later, perplexed at how I managed to sleep through relocation. I could feel Edward's breath at my neck as he slept, and when I turned my head to look at him, he tightened his arm around me. I watched his eyelids flutter with his dreams for as long as I could, then turned my head back around when my neck couldn't tolerate the contortion any longer. My hand traced his arm until I found his hand and knotted our fingers together before falling back to sleep.

Everything at work continued to run smoothly; construction on the theater was on track to finish two weeks early, and with ticket sales increasing, our profits were higher than ever. Everything on the radio side of things was going well, too, with the Sales department consistently hitting goal by early in the third week of the month and ratings showing all of our stations at or near the top for their formats.

Peter appeared to be on edge, though, sometime around mid-August. I would ask him if anything was wrong, but he always insisted everything was okay. I tried not to worry, but he came in one day looking particularly ragged with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't been able to sleep.

Something wasn't right, and clearly holding it in wasn't helping him, so I walked into his office and shut the door behind me. He looked up at me and his expression turned to one of defeat when he motioned to a chair. I took a seat and waited.

"Corporate is planning to change a few things," he said with no preamble.

I furrowed my brow. "Okay?"

"They, uh… They want to split Live Entertainment into its own separate entity since it's doing so well. It's consistently profitable, has a pretty high profile… all thanks to you."

So far it sounded good enough, but certainly this information wouldn't cause the kind of stress he'd obviously been under, so I stayed silent and waited for him to continue.

"I'm not supposed to say anything to anyone, not even you. But you deserve to have all of the details… Charlotte's been ripping me apart nightly for not telling you."

I fidgeted nervously, afraid of where he was going with this. It had the potential to be really good or really bad, and by his behavior, it seemed really bad was the more likely.

"You're guaranteed the assistant title when it splits, at the very least. But… they'll be interviewing a number of people for the General Manager position… including you, if you want it."

He clasped his hands together on his desk and waited for me to react. "So, they're going to make me interview for the job I'm already doing?"

He nodded.

"And if they choose someone else, I still have a job?"

He nodded again.

I took a deep breath. "I'm guessing if I don't get the GM spot, I'll take a pay cut, lose my bonuses… lose the car…"

He cringed and nodded.

The anger was starting to flare. "So, I spent years making Live Entertainment successful enough to take this step, and that doesn't even earn me the consideration of them keeping me in the loop on a decision like this?"

"That's exactly what I told them, and they threatened me if I mentioned it. But I don't care—you deserve to know exactly what's going on. I tried to convince them that it was completely ridiculous to look outside for management since they already have it in you, but they insisted that they had to go through the whole process so that everything looks on the up and up for the FCC and stockholders."

I was staring off at a spot on the wall, willing myself not to cry those damn angry tears. My head was pounding with the effort.

"Thanks for telling me," I managed to force out.

"Look, why don't you take off for the rest of the day. This is a lot to take in, and no one would expect you to focus on anything until you've had time to think about everything I just told you and consider what you want to do. Trust me, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that job is yours… but unfortunately I can't guarantee anything. If the decision were up to me…"

I sighed and nodded. "I know… and thanks."

I pushed myself up from the chair, and he stood to walk around the desk, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"It's okay. I understand. I appreciate that you were willing to risk telling me at all." And it was the truth. As upset as I was with the entire situation, he was putting himself on the line to do what he felt was right. I knew that he'd be in my corner through the whole process, fighting on my behalf behind closed doors.

I walked to my office and shut everything down before grabbing my things and heading out. I came and went at odd hours every day so no one seemed to pay any attention or notice anything odd as I left. I drove home in a daze, thinking about all the ways this could turn out.

I pulled into the garage, ran over to pick up Max, who was surprised to see me so soon, then distracted myself by agreeing to a few rounds each of Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. I wasn't paying attention to time, and the sound of the front door opening startled me. I looked up to see Edward's confused face change to one of concern. Apparently I looked at bad as I felt.

"I wasn't sure what happened to you, where you went. I walked to the studio and your office was locked up. I was worried."

"Sorry," I mumbled. I hadn't thought about telling anybody that I was leaving; I'd just wanted to get out of there.

"Hey," he said softly as he crouched down beside my spot on the floor. "What's wrong?"

I pressed my lips tightly together and shook my head before looking over at Max. Edward immediately understood that I didn't want to discuss anything in front of Max, so he turned his attention over to him.

"I have an idea, Max," he said, getting Max's attention. "Why don't I set up a movie in your room? I'll pop some popcorn that you can take up there. I bet I can find some candy, too."

I chuckled at his junk food bribes.

"I can eat in my room?" Max asked, excited by the prospect of doing something he usually wasn't allowed.

"Sure," Edward answered with a grin.

"Are you gonna watch the movie with me?" Max asked.

"Maybe later—your mom and I have to talk first, though, okay?"

Max considered for a second before agreeing to the terms. "Okay, but as soon as you're done talking you'll come watch the movie with me."

It wasn't a question; it was an order, and Edward and I both smiled.

"Of course," Edward consented.

I continued to sit on the floor while they got things ready to go upstairs. I let my head fall back and rest on the couch, not even lifting it when I heard Edward re-enter the room.

"Why don't you move up here," he said as he patted the couch cushion. "It'll be more comfortable."

I nodded, then pushed myself up to the edge of the couch and scooted back, making room for him to sit down next to me. He pulled me closer, and I tucked my head under his chin and felt him kiss my hair. "What happened?"

I took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start.

"I think I might lose my job." Possibly dramatic since I was guaranteed a position, but it was as good a place to start as any.

He stiffened in his seat. "What do you mean? What in the hell happened?"

I relayed everything Peter had told me, nearly verbatim, and he listened quietly.

"So, I came home to think," I finished, stating the obvious.

He kissed my hair again, the action in direct contrast to the venom in his words when he mumbled, "What a fucking joke. They'd have to be complete morons to not hand it over to you. Hell, they wouldn't have anything to hand over if it weren't for you. You've busted your ass turning that half of the business into what it is. They'd have to be delusional to expect you to just accept their decision if they think another interview goes better."

"There's nothing I can do, though," I said, my voice shaking with my attempt to hold back tears. "I can't exactly go in and demand they forego the interviews and give me the job—that won't exactly get me anywhere with them. But I won't stick around if they do hire someone else. I refuse to take a step backward—because that's what it'll be. Either whoever they hire will take over most of the job and I'll be expected to focus on menial administrative tasks that are far below my capabilities or they'll actually acknowledge that I'm damn good at what I do and expect me to keep doing it for a fraction of the money."

He held tighter and rubbed a hand up and down my arm. "What a mess," he said with a sigh.

"I have options, though. I don't _want_ to start over somewhere else, but I have enough connections and plenty of people who would be more than happy to give me a job with my experience if I need to move on."

I could feel him nod. "Did Peter say when they're going to make the big announcement? When do these interviews start?"

"No, I guess I didn't think to ask. It kind of caught me by surprise… it didn't even cross my mind." I wanted to kick myself. That information would've been very useful.

"Understandable," he said. "I don't even know what I can do or say right now. I feel useless."

I pulled my head back to look at him. "Don't. This is all I need—you right here. I might not know how this is going to play out or what I'm going to do, but I already feel better just having you here."

I stretched to kiss him for reassurance and then burrowed back into the comfort of his arms. We sat quietly for a while before I heard footsteps upstairs that stopped at the top of the steps.

"Are you done talking yet?" Max yelled down.

Edward and I both laughed, and I unfolded my legs to put my feet on the floor. "I guess that means time's up."

"Guess so," he agreed as he stood and took my hand, leading me to the stairs before answering Max. "We're done."

"Then come on!" Max growled before we heard his feet patter back to his room.

Edward stopped me with a tug on my hand before I took the first step. He looked down at me, contemplative as he threaded his free hand in my hair, pushing it away from my face. "It'll all work out, somehow."

"Yeah," I whispered and looked down, unable to meet his intense gaze. "I hope so."

His hand left my hair and moved to my chin so that he could tip my head back and force me to look at him. "It will," he insisted. "One way or another, we'll figure something out."

I couldn't stop the tears this time and threw my body forward to press my cheek against his chest and wrap my arms around his waist. His arms came around my shoulder as he whispered promises in my ear. He was so quiet that I couldn't make sense of his words through my sobs, but the comfort he lent was enough. I needed to purge all of this so that I could focus on my plan of attack with a clear head. As his hand rubbed up and down my back, I wondered how I would've handled this had he never moved here, had never become such an integral part of my life, and then thanked the heavens that I didn't have to find out… that he was here, that he would be with me through all of this.


	27. The Competition

******Thanks to my betas Beans827 and Shug!**

**Just a note, the name "Belfiore" is pronounced "Bell Fury" and when I was dealing with a ridiculously difficult woman with that last name months ago I knew I needed to use it and I've been waiting for this chapter to finally share it.**

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EPOV

Two weeks later and Bella still hadn't told anyone else about what was going on with her job. Our friends could tell that something was bothering her, but she refused to budge. Of course, that just meant they tried to corner me when she wasn't around.

But the whole office would find out on Monday, so she had planned to tell them today.

"You're going to drive yourself crazy if you keep this in any longer," I said quietly. A loud hum coming from the kitchen drowned out most of our conversation, giving us a small amount of privacy as we sat together on the couch.

Bella glanced over her shoulder toward the noise before tucking her head under my chin. "I know, but everyone's so relaxed and having a good time… I don't want to spoil it yet. I don't know what's going to happen so I want to enjoy a drama-free afternoon while I can."

I tightened my grip as if that alone could protect her from the storm she was getting ready to face. The click of heels exiting the kitchen then softly padding on carpeting drew our attention.

"Okay, what's going on?" Rosalie asked pointedly as she handed over frozen margaritas. The machine had received frequent use since it arrived on Bella's doorstep mid-July. Dad called the day that the tickets had arrived at the house, thanking Bella over and over, and a few days later a Margaritaville DM1000 Frozen Concoction Maker appeared with all of the accessories one would need except for the liquor. He had to have paid significantly more than face value on the tickets, but it wasn't about being even; it was about showing his appreciation of the gesture.

Bella sat up and took a sip before responding. "What makes you think something's going on?"

Before Rosalie could say anything, I rolled my head to the side to look at Bella. "I think it's time to just tell them."

She looked like she wanted to argue but sighed after a moment and nodded in defeat.

"Let me just check on Max," she said before standing up and heading upstairs to make sure he was still napping.

Rosalie walked out to round up everyone else, and they all watched me for clues as they made their way into the living room.

"So… we're finally allowed in the inner circle?" Emmett asked. His frustration with being left out evident.

"Things are tough right now, and she couldn't say anything. Don't give her a hard time about it," I warned him.

Everyone turned their heads to watch Bella walk back down the stairs.

"No pressure or anything," she mumbled.

She returned to her place next to me, sitting straight up on the edge of the couch, looking uncomfortable and staring at a random point on the floor. The silence was palpable, and after a moment, she sighed, rubbed her hands on her thighs, and began speaking. "On Monday they're going to announce that Live Entertainment will be split from Radio to form its own division of the company. They'll be interviewing six people, including me, to head it up."

She didn't look up, just closed her eyes and waited for the onslaught. I glanced around the room to see everybody exchanging worried looks.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Alice yelled out, breaking the stillness while looking as though she was ready to head out the door and hunt down the execs at any moment to give them a piece of her mind… and possibly a designer shoe up the ass.

Her outburst prompted the barrage we had both been expecting, and though their rage wasn't directed at her, Bella still flinched. I reached forward to bring her back from the edge of the couch and let her burrow into my side while she tried to maintain some amount of resolve.

"Seriously!" Emmett shouted, agreeing with Alice. "They're going to make you interview for your job—everyone knows that's been your position for more than four years in everything but title."

"Completely ridiculous," Rosalie grumbled. "Live Entertainment would still be floundering if it weren't for you, and they don't find it the least bit offensive to ask you to get in line with everyone else?"

"What can we do?" Jasper asked, always the voice of reason. "If there's anything, anything at all, that'll help secure that spot for you, tell us."

I felt her body shudder with sobs while everyone griped and complained to each other, getting more and more worked up and only serving to upset Bella even further.

"That's enough," I called out loud enough for everyone to hear. They stopped instantly, then took in Bella's shaking form.

Alice ran over and sat on the other side of Bella, and I let go of her so that she could accept Alice's comfort. Rosalie was watching the two of them, so I stood and nodded for her to take my place. She flashed a small grateful smile and immediately wrapped her arms around the other two.

Bella was still crying, and I could hear both Alice and Rosalie whispering to her, though I couldn't make out any words. Emmett and Jasper both stood and walked over to me.

"So, that's why corporate was around this week," Jasper said, not even bothering to frame it as a question.

I nodded. "She had to play dumb. Peter told her two weeks ago even though he wasn't supposed to. This was their big courtesy—telling her on Friday rather than letting her find out on Monday with the rest of the staff."

The expressions on Jasper and Emmett's faces matched the disgust in my voice.

"How does it look?" Emmett asked quietly.

I shrugged. "Hard to tell. There are a couple that seem to completely adore her and are acting like this is just a formality they need to go through. One's a total ass. The other two, I can't get a good read on them… I have no idea what their take is on this."

The mood in the room was pretty solemn, and when Max woke up everyone did their best to act as if nothing had happened. He didn't seem to notice anything, so I supposed we were doing a decent enough job of it. And Max was a good distraction for all of us. It was hard to dwell on things when he was constantly commanding everybody's attention.

He actually managed to infuse a little lightheartedness into the afternoon when he insisted on watching _101 Dalmations_. All eyes turned to Emmett when he roared with laughter upon the introduction of Cruella DeVil's henchmen.

"Jasper! You're a Disney villain! And a bumbling one at that!"

Everyone laughed, more at Emmett's reaction than anything else since it wasn't really _that_ funny.

"You're just jealous because you don't have a Disney character named after you," Jasper retorted smugly.

Emmett's expression sobered as he thought about it. "Why is that? Emmett would be a great name for a Disney character."

"There's a Muppet named 'Emmett,'" Bella informed him.

"Bull," he said laughing. "There is no Muppet named 'Emmett.'"

Bella shot him a pointed look. "Why would I make that up? There is too a Muppet named 'Emmett.'"

To prove her point she walked across the room and started skimming through movie titles with her index finger. Pulling one from the shelf, she walked back over and tossed the case onto his lap. Moments later, his laughter erupted again.

"No way!" he exclaimed. "I really am a Muppet! Check this out"—he held the movie up for everyone to see—"_Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas_. I'm taking this bad boy home with me. Guess what we're watching tonight, babe."

"Thanks a lot," Rosalie grumbled and glared at Bella for just a second before shaking her head and laughing.

The get-together ended a little while later, and the absence of friends meant the return of melancholy. I was once again at a loss as to what I could do, but she insisted she needed this time to wallow and get it out of her system so that when Monday rolled around, she could face it head on.

And that was exactly what she did. Though it was obvious that she wasn't happy about the changes, she was confident and professional—irritating the hell out of Lauren and Jessica who enjoyed the news a little too much and made sure Bella witnessed their enthusiastic grins repeatedly.

There was a mix of reactions at the news. Some were nearly as livid as we were that they would waste their time looking at other options, while others were more concerned with how this would affect the ties between radio and live entertainment, and therefore business as a whole.

When it was announced that the other candidates were flying in the next day to start the process on Wednesday, I wanted to stand up and ask the corporate assholes just how long the others had known about the job offer. If they were coming in already, clearly they had some advanced notice. Had it not been for Peter going against what he'd been instructed, would Bella really have been the last to know? The only thing keeping me in my seat was the fact that anything I said or did would unfairly, yet undeniably, reflect on her. So, with all the willpower I could muster, I stayed silent.

Shortly after the meeting was over, I was in my office trying to work ahead on whatever I could just to keep my mind occupied. I heard footsteps and saw movement from the corner of my eye and then turned to the door to see Bella standing there, her confidence ready to crack at any moment.

"Come on, let's go to lunch," I said, then directed her down the hall as quickly as possible, stopping only for her to pick up her purse.

We headed to a restaurant a little further away in the hopes that no one from the office would venture that far away, affording us a small amount of privacy so that she could vent or break down; it was hard to tell which she needed more.

"Talk to me," I urged gently once we'd placed our orders. I placed my hand over hers to halt her nervous finger tapping and soothed the back with my thumb.

She inhaled a shaky breath before she started. "I thought I'd be fine, and I would be if people would just leave me alone."

"What do you mean?" I asked, shifting restlessly, ready to confront anyone who was giving her trouble. "Who's bothering you?"

"No, it's not like that. They just… Ugh! People keep stopping by for 'support,' but the more they bring it up, the worse it feels. I'd rather they just not mention it."

I scooted my chair closer, pulling her into my arms and kissing the top of her head. "Why don't you just close your door until all of this blows over? No one will blame you."

"I'm going to go check out a couple venues for the rest of the afternoon. At least I can be productive and still get away from all the looks of pity," she mumbled into my shoulder.

I tried to change the subject to something lighter by bringing up her approaching birthday, hoping to get an idea of what I could do for her, but the death glare I received made me think it was not a preferable topic, so I quickly dropped it.

When we finished lunch, she didn't bother to head back into the office. She simply pulled the key to her office off of the key ring and asked me to pick up her laptop and lock up so that she could head straight for the garage and make her escape.

That was how she dealt with the stress every day that week. She would show up in the morning to plow through the necessary office work before heading to the various venues. The fact that there was a show going on somewhere—often in multiple venues—each night worked to her advantage, and the execs didn't think twice about her absence. They certainly didn't give another thought to including her empty office in the tour they gave each interviewee that showed up. In fact, that was what prompted Bella to make it a daily habit rather than an occasional getaway.

It was one thing to expect her to play nice in the common areas, but that was one step too far. I wasn't the only one who thought so. I lost count of how many coworkers were offended on Bella's behalf, Peter was about ready to go through the roof, and there even seemed to be a divide amongst the execs.

To say things were tense would be an understatement, but nothing prepared me for how bad it was about to get.

There had been two prospective candidates each day which left one unknown and Bella for Friday. Due to an extremely late night that required Bella's presence at an outdoor venue we'd rented for a large tour, they _generously_ allowed Bella to have the afternoon slot so that she could sleep in a bit.

I was sitting in my usual seat, bantering with Emmett and Jasper on the air when movement outside the studio door caught my eye. My stomach dropped upon recognition of candidate number five standing in the hallway, schmoozing corporate, and completely oblivious to my attention.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered Emmett quickly wrapping up the segment and heading into a block of music just as I stood up—the movement so fast that I knocked my chair over—and cursed.

"Fuck! Are you kidding me?"

I started pacing, pulling at my hair, trying to think of anything that could stop the train wreck that was undoubtedly upon us.

"What's wrong, man?" Emmett asked, and I turned to point at the retreating forms headed toward Peter's office.

"That! That's what's wrong."

"You're gonna have to tell us a little more than that," Jasper said, his tone wary, no doubt a reaction to _my_ reaction.

I turned to look at both of them, fuming. "James. James fucking Belfiore is the fifth candidate for this job."

Their twin expressions of shock and dread upon recognition of the name would have amused me under any other circumstances.

"Are you sure?" Emmett asked, then backtracked when I looked at him like he was an idiot. "Okay, yeah. Stupid question. So what are we going to do about this?"

"What the hell _can_ we do?" I asked, frustrated.

Jasper stepped forward and shrugged. "You know how this guy operates, go in and tell them the shit he'll never admit to."

I turned to give him the same expression I had just given Emmett. "Like they're going to listen to me… the guy dating the competition."

"At least talk to Peter," Emmett offered.

I nodded. "He already knows everything that happened in Chicago. Maybe I can pass along contact information of a few old coworkers and clients that will back up everything I've said."

We somehow managed to finish the rest of the morning show without too much strain. I was passing Peter's office on my way back to my own when the door opened and the sound of laughter and talking filtered into the hallway. I stopped dead in my tracks when James noticed me, and his pandering smile shifted into a smug smirk.

"Told you I'd see you later!" he said. If someone didn't know our history, they'd have thought it was a friendly greeting given his easy tone of voice.

'See you later'—there it was; confirmation that at least someone knew what was happening long before Bella.

My eyes zoned in on the hand clapping James' shoulder. "Oh that's right. You're from the Chicago market, too. I guess you two would know each other, then."

There wasn't an ounce of surprise in Laurent's voice, and all the pieces started fitting together. He'd been the biggest asshole to Bella during this entire process—the ringleader of all the disrespect that had been directed at her.

Before I could respond, Peter cut through the small crowd and diverted me away. "Edward, there you are. Do you have a minute? I need to sign the contract on that new automation system so I want to go over it one last time."

I nodded and trailed behind him down the hall. As soon as we stepped into my office I looked at him and chuckled. "You signed that paperwork a week ago."

He shrugged. "I figured you needed an out."

"Thanks." I turned to step behind my desk and sighed.

Peter didn't leave; instead he stood there quietly for a few moments. "I didn't know he was on the short list. Hell, I didn't know he was on any list until he walked in this morning."

"It's okay," I muttered, still frustrated over this turn of events.

He was quiet again. I looked up to see him staring off at nothing, chewing at the inside of his cheek. "I'm going to do my best to make sure they are aware of his history, but he already has Laurent in his pocket. I'm still trying to figure this out. There has to be a history there… they're too friendly, know each other too well to have just met during this whole process."

"Yeah, good luck with that." I was already jaded with the whole situation, but it wasn't fair to take it out on Peter knowing he was working hard on Bella's side. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize," he said, lifting his hand to wave me off.

"She won't stick around, you know?"

He nodded. "I keep telling them that. I can name at least three people in this city alone that would create a position for her just to get her on board. For the most part, they seem to recognize that, and they don't want to lose her…"

I heard what he wasn't saying. "But Laurent…?"

"Yeah. He's pretty charismatic, good at influencing people to bend to his will. I can't begin to predict what will happen if he has already set his mind to something."

I called Bella as soon as Peter walked out of the office to give her the heads up. She was already on her way in and declined my offer—plea—to meet her in the garage so she didn't have to walk up here alone. I had visions of James still hanging around and doing or saying something to make her uncomfortable or to attempt to discredit her, but she was adamant, insisting she needed to face this on her own. And as much as I wanted to step in and protect her, my rational side knew that wouldn't look good professionally.

I managed to catch up with her a little while later, and she assured me that nothing had happened—that everyone, including James, was already gone by the time she made it to her office. It still didn't make me feel any better, because I knew it would happen eventually. I was too familiar with the way James worked, and he had no doubt done his research on her and would find ways to undermine everything she had accomplished or deflect attention from the things he couldn't.

The idea of focusing on anything but the clock was laughable while she was in her interview. I couldn't sit still; I was a jittery mess and briefly wished I was a smoker just so I could have a vice to help me pass the time and calm my nervousness. When she finally showed up in my office an hour later, I rushed to her but not before noticing that she looked confident but guarded.

As soon as I wrapped my arms around her, I felt her whole body slump while she clung to me. I was close enough to reach out to shut the door to give us a little privacy, knowing she wouldn't want any eavesdroppers hanging around in the halls.

"How did it go?" I asked, speaking into her hair since she had decided to keep her face nuzzled into my chest.

I felt her shrug then take a deep breath. "Good?" she answered, seeming unsure. I didn't respond, just waited for her to continue. "I guess it went well. It's hard to say not knowing anything about the others. Laurent was an ass, but that's to be expected."

"What is his problem, anyway?" I asked, hoping to figure out what exactly was going on. I'd only met him once before this, briefly, but every time Bella mentioned or heard his name she'd roll her eyes and laugh so I knew this wasn't a new development.

"He has issues with women," she mumbled. "He's intimidated by intelligent women, so when he has to work with one who knows what she's doing, he treats her like an idiot to try to prove a point… or make himself feel better, who knows? I never took it personally but it never really affected my job before either."

"The others?" I asked, wanting to know if everyone shared this mentality.

"Know exactly how he is and brush it off," she finished.

I wanted to be supportive, so even though I was still worried about how things would play out, I offered a half-hearted, "Well, that's good. At least you know everyone else will be fair and the decision doesn't come down to him alone."

She nodded and conversation died. She held on for a few more minutes before finally letting go and stepping away from me.

"I guess I better get back to my office and look productive," she said with a humorless laugh.

I wasn't sure what she was getting at, so I asked, "What do you mean?"

She paused, biting her lip before finally showing just how frustrated she was with the situation after a week of trying to remain stoic. "It isn't fair. I feel like every moment is another part of my interview. None of those other people are observed the way I am. Everything I do is being judged, and if I slip up just once, if I look like I'm not pulling my weight around here, it's going to affect my chances. I have to keep working right under their noses while the other five candidates get to go back to their hotels and do whatever the hell they want. They get to wow the execs in a conference room and then lay low. I have to impress them every second of every day."

I hadn't thought of it like that and realized that I truly had no understanding of how much pressure she was really under. It was amazing that she was faring as well as she was. All I could do was offer an alternate way of looking at things.

"Yeah, but you also get to remind them every day just why you deserve that job. Everyone else walks in with rehearsed answers and hopes they can pretty their words up enough to stand out. You get to put it into practice and show them that you do more than just talk about making the business a success… you've already done it and continue to do it every day."

She was silent for a moment before she mumbled, "I guess."

She didn't sound convinced, but it did seem to offer a small amount of relief. It ended up being something she clung to when the stress was ready to overtake her the following week. Corporate seemed content to take their time making a decision, and the days stretched with no word on when we could expect an answer. The candidates were flown back and forth for various rounds that continued to be added to the decision making process.

There was another big show on Wednesday that they decided to take all of the candidates to so that they could familiarize themselves with the culture of this market. Though she was to spend the evening with them as part of this mini-tour, Bella ended up being pulled to work and solve problems or simply greet managers and agents. Regardless of what was going on around her, she still had a job to do.

Once again, I felt completely useless when she came home that night so stressed out that she started crying. Nobody had come right out and said it, but the idea was that the next round of interviews would involve the candidates discussing what, if any, changes they would make—essentially, they would be critiquing her work to the very men who had the fate of her career in their hands.

No big surprise, this was a hint dropped by Laurent and something that James latched onto with glee by insinuating that he already had a few things in mind.

On Friday, we were thankfully free from the execs who had started the weekend early. The mood around the station relaxed significantly for most people. Clearly, the break wasn't helping Bella, because when I walked into her office to take her out to lunch, it was a disaster. The surface of her desk was littered with the contents of the drawers while she searched, mumbling to herself.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked softly, trying to pacify her and calm down her frenzy.

She continued to tear through the mess without looking up at me. "I can't find my address book. I need a number out of it, and I can't find it anywhere. I always keep it in the top drawer, but it's gone. I have no idea what I did with it."

I put my hand over hers until she dropped the papers she was holding then pulled her away so that her back was to the clutter, and she'd focus on me rather than it.

"Don't you keep the numbers in your phone?" I asked, knowing she stored everything on her computer and phone and the address book was simply a backup.

"Not this one. I had a couple business cards stuffed in there until I could add them because I haven't had the time. Now it's gone."

"I'll help you look for it later. Why don't we get out of here for a little while? You could use the break," I offered.

She turned to look at the disorder she was leaving behind and nodded. "I'll just call the agency directly later. They can give me the direct line."

The longer this process stretched, the more it affected Bella. She berated herself constantly for becoming so disorganized and losing things, but she was somehow able to flip a switch when corporate was around to keep them from seeing just how distressed the whole situation was making her. She mastered the illusion, earning praise from a couple of the execs who apologized on the following Monday for what they said must be a tough situation and commended her on her professionalism through it all. They even went so far as to admitting they wouldn't have handled it with the kind of grace she had if they were in her position.

It was that information that gave me hope for her. At least, that was until I met with one of our clients about putting together a promotion. We discussed plans over lunch at a restaurant closer to his business. We had already hashed out all of the details and were simply finishing the meal when I looked up to see James and Laurent being led by a hostess to another section of the restaurant. Neither saw me, and my uneasiness grew when they stepped out of sight.

As soon as our bill was paid, I said my goodbyes and claimed to need to use the restroom before I left to get out of walking out with the client.

I found James and Laurent quickly, and they were positioned perfectly for me to be able to stand around the corner and still be able to hear them.

"How much longer is this going to take? This is getting ridiculous," I heard James complain.

"Just give it another day or two," Laurent placated. "I think I have the rest convinced and ready to make a decision. You know the job is yours, just relax."

"Yeah, well the longer this goes on, the more of a chance of something going wrong."

I heard Laurent sigh. "James. I created this position for you. I convinced them the split was a good idea so that you could get out of Chicago before you were fired and stuck with that in your professional history. I'm not going to let it go to hell now. Just let me work my magic."

My stomach twisted with anger, dread, and defeat. I wanted to jump out from behind that wall and let them know that I'd heard every word, but it would be my word against theirs and the only hope at this point was that none of the other execs seemed to know anything about this. So, instead, I listened as Laurent continued talking.

"And whatever you do, get and stay on Bella's good side. We're already trying to figure out how to get her to stay if we choose someone else. You need her to keep working, to keep doing what she's doing so you don't piss off all the clients again and run us into the ground."

I was shaking with rage—just as she'd feared, Bella would be expected to continue doing all of the work with none of the credit. And all because James' friend was trying to save his ass since he had fucked up so bad in Chicago.

When the topic shifted to the other candidates, I left. I made it back to the station and walked right into Peter's office, thankful that Bella was spending the afternoon checking on theatre renovations.

"Laurent and James have orchestrated this entire thing from the beginning. Nobody else ever had a chance."

Peter looked up at me hovering over his desk, my palms on the cool surface as the words tumbled out.

"What?" he asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

I told him everything I had overheard. He stood and paced, visibly agitated.

"Shit!" he yelled when I finished. He looked at me for a moment before saying, "This isn't good."

I scoffed. "No kidding."

"No, listen to me. The rest are down to James and Bella for the final decision. One of the candidates pulled out this morning after getting another job offer, and the other three are too stuck in their ways to adhere to the changes Bella has already made around here. This is between James and Bella now."

I wasn't above begging. "You have to let them know. You have to get them to see that they're being manipulated."

"I don't know if it'll work," he said, dejected. I opened my mouth to speak, but he held his hand up to stop me. "I'll try, I'm not giving up, but I don't know… You and I are both too closely connected to this decision so they might just see this as a last desperate attempt. I'll do what I can, but this doesn't look good. They know how Laurent operates, but at the same time, he does make good business decisions, so they take his opinion seriously."

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, _usually_ makes good business decisions. This one pretty much negates every positive thing he's ever done for this company."

"So that's it?" I asked.

"I honestly don't know."

I turned and left his office, stomping my way to mine without looking at anybody I passed in the hall. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Corporate wasn't supposed to screw someone over as a favor to a fuck-up like James. As helpless as I'd felt through all of this, none of it compared to the desperation I felt at that moment.

That was probably why I didn't turn down or ignore the phone call that came in just thirty minutes later as I had the many times it had come since June.


	28. Unforeseen Confessions

**Thanks to my betas Beans827 & Shug!  
**

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**BPOV**

It was obvious that this professional limbo I was stuck in was nearing an end. For weeks I'd been treading water, trying to prove myself, and I still had no idea where I stood. I could hope. I could draw meaning from various statements and sentiments shared by the corporate execs. But there was always the strong possibility that I was deluding myself in the process.

So instead, I stayed as disconnected as possible. I continued to do my work as usual while navigating the obstacle course that had been laid out in front of me. And on top of everything, I still had my _life_ to take care of, too.

Max went back to pre-school, which put him into a much more predictable routine, thankfully. I had briefly debated ignoring the phone call about sign-ups for the fall soccer league then immediately dismissed that idea, not wanting to force him to give up something he loved because of the unpredictability of my situation. There were enough people willing to step in to make sure that he made it to practice that I didn't need to worry, and somehow I'd managed to juggle everything so that help hadn't been necessary yet.

I was so thankful for the weekend and was determined to forget about everything for the time being. It was raining outside—surprise, surprise—so Max and I were forced to entertain ourselves inside.

"What now?" I asked as I fit the lid to the top of his Memory game and walked over to the closet to put it away.

"Duck, Duck, Goose!" he yelled.

I laughed. "You know, I think you need more people for that game. You kind of lose the element of surprise when it's just two."

He gave me a funny look, not fully understanding what I meant, and I laughed harder. I ran over and scooped him up, holding his legs in the air as I dipped his head toward the ground. His voice took on a throaty, Kermit the Frog quality to it from the effect of his position when he pled for me to put him down. I eventually relented, but not until his face started turning red.

His feet had just hit the floor when the door opened and Edward walked in. "There's your other duck!" I called out and grinned at the furrowed brow and crooked yet confused grin on Edward's face.

Max ran over, jumping at the last second for Edward to catch him. As soon as he was steady on Edward's hip, Max reached out to tap Edward on the head. "Goose!"

He hid it well when his attention was focused on Max, but I could tell this was all taking a toll on Edward as well. It hadn't affected our relationship, other than perhaps making me a little clingier than usual when we were alone. But he was wearing the stress just as much as I was, and I felt awful for it. I was at a point where I just wanted it to be over, no matter what the decision was.

We both managed to pretend that nothing was looming over our heads for the rest of the day. After Max went to bed, Edward and I curled up on the couch together, both of us seemingly caught up in our thoughts. It wasn't unusual to find ourselves like that the past couple weeks, and I didn't think anything of it until he started fidgeting. A lot.

Something was making Edward uncomfortable, so by extension, I was uncomfortable. I let it go on for a while, hoping he would open up or at least work through whatever it was that was bothering him. After ten minutes, it was clear that wasn't going to happen.

"Talk to me," I said quietly and he froze.

He hesitated before speaking. "I overheard James and Laurent talking at lunch yesterday."

"Wait. Why was James having lunch with corporate? I didn't hear anything about that."

He shook his head. "He wasn't having lunch with corporate. He was having lunch with Laurent."

It took a moment to sink in, and he recognized the moment that it did. "Yeah," he whispered while I struggled to keep myself from panicking.

"What did you hear?"

Again, he hesitated, looking at me pleadingly, asking me to not make him repeat the inevitable bad news. My mind raced with multiple possibilities, each one worse than the last.

"Edward." My voice was barely above a whisper. Any more effort into speaking and I would've broken down. "What did you hear?"

"Laurent had the job created just for James. It's always been his." He spoke so quietly, as if pained to tell me, that I tried to convince myself that I'd misheard him. But I knew I was just fooling myself and I'd heard him with perfect clarity.

He continued talking, detailing everything he'd overheard. I tried to listen, but it was as if I was underwater, only able to hear a muffled echo of the words while the nausea built in the pit of my stomach.

"They listen to him," I mumbled, defeated, when he finished. "He can be an ass, but they trust his judgment."

Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered Edward pulling me into his arms so that my head rested under his chin, but I couldn't move; I couldn't even blink.

"That's what Peter said, too."

I pulled back enough to look at him, suddenly very aware. "Wait. He knows?"

"He didn't. I went into his office when I got back and told him everything. He had no clue, but he said the same thing."

I averted my eyes, the pity and loss of hope in his eyes too much for me to take.

"So, I guess that's it." My voice caught at the end, hitching before I held my breath to prevent a sob from escaping. "I need to find something else. I refuse to stay there if that's how it's all going to play out."

With the idea of leaving them to fend for themselves with an incompetent brown-noser in charge, I grew more determined. Edward, however, was still fidgeting, and when I looked up at him, he looked nervous.

"There's, uh, an opening for a company in Los Angeles… they're looking for someone to take over. I thought maybe you could apply for it."

I furrowed my brow. "Why would I go there? I don't need to leave. I could probably find something here."

The expression on his face and the fact that he wouldn't look me in the eye concerned me, and I once again started to panic. "What aren't you telling me?"

I watched and waited as he ran a hand through his hair before resting his elbows on his knees and dropping his face into his hands so that his mouth and nose were covered. My heart raced in my chest, faster and faster the longer he remained silent.

"Edward?"

"I, uh…" His hands dropped, as did his head, before he found the words. "I got a job offer. They've been calling me weekly since Vegas."

I could feel my entire body trembling, but I was otherwise immobile. He looked at me, eyes pleading. "I took it."

I closed my eyes, unable to look at him and not fall apart. "Where?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"L.A." he whispered. I felt the couch shift as he moved and flinched when I felt his hand on my face, his thumb brushing my cheeks. I hadn't realized I'd started crying until I opened my eyes to a blur. "It's a syndicated daily morning show with a weekend countdown. One year contract. I already signed and sent it back."

I couldn't begin to list all of the emotions coursing through me. Shock, anger, and hurt were all there in large quantities, but above everything was just sadness. I shook my head, refusing to believe, unable to speak.

"Come with me. It's a bigger market so you're bound to find something quickly… and if you don't, who cares. This job, the contract they offered, it wouldn't even matter if you worked."

"I can't," I said resolutely through tears.

I had no idea that I had backed away until I noticed him scoot closer. "Bella…"

I shook my head and closed my eyes for a moment. "I can't," I repeated, this time laced with anger, my voice rising to a yell. "I can't just up and move on a whim. I won't uproot Max's life unless it's absolutely necessary. And it _isn't_ necessary. I have options right here, and if none of them pan out right away, I'll be fine."

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I stood from my seat and started pacing. "I have plenty of money in savings. You know this. I have that whole settlement that I could dip into if I needed it. My regular pay was more than enough to live on, so all of my bonuses went into the bank. I'm _fine_. You didn't need to sign a contract so that you could take care of me."

"I wasn't even thinking about the settlement—"

"Obviously," I snipped, cutting him off. "Were you thinking about anything but a quick fix? I just don't understand how you could make a decision like this—something that no matter what would upend our lives—without talking to me first."

I turned and stormed out of the room, knowing that I needed to get myself under control before I started hyperventilating or said something I'd regret. I needed to think; I needed to calm down. I couldn't discuss this rationally until I had a moment to process it.

I made it to the island in the kitchen, my head collapsing in my hands as I started sobbing. I didn't hear Edward follow me in, but at the touch of his hand on my back and the whisper of my name from his lips, I cried harder. I turned and threw myself at him, feeling him stumble backwards at the force but not caring.

"I don't need money," I mumbled into his neck. "I just needed you."

His repeated apologies didn't allow my tears to slow, and we ended up huddled together in a mass on the kitchen floor, clinging to each other, afraid to let go.

Some time later, he wiped the last of my tears from my eyes. I studied his face as he did so, noting the stress that was evident.

"I can't get out of it." His whispered words were strained.

"When do you have to leave?" I responded just as quietly.

He hugged me closer again. It seemed to make it slightly easier to talk when we were like this.

"End of the month."

I quickly did the math in my head. "Three weeks." My breath hitched.

His only answer was a nod.

"One year. I only signed on for one year." His voice was shaky with emotion. "I'll be right back when it's over if you still want me."

I sat back to look at him, my expression no doubt asking him if he was an idiot.

"You know I'll wait however long it takes. I just wish you would've talked to me first."

He sighed in relief and dropped his forehead to mine. "I don't want this to screw anything up for us. I love you so much… I wouldn't be able to stand it if my knee-jerk reaction messed this up."

I shook my head. "We'll figure it out. I'm just… I don't know what to do with this right now. I'm so angry and hurt… but I don't want to spend the little time you have left here being pissed at you."

It was the truth, even if a little watered down. Angry and hurt weren't big enough words to describe how I felt, but after everything I'd gone through over the past few weeks, I was too exhausted to take on any more. And just the thought of having to explain this to Max scared the hell out of me and made me want to cry harder.

We spent the night unable to tear ourselves apart from each other, needing the constant reassurance that we were still there and still okay and still loved each other regardless of this colossal upheaval.

On Sunday, we were just as clingy.

And on Monday, I was out for blood. I had pieced together a few important details once Edward and I worked through our personal issues. First was confirmation from Peter via Edward that—as far as all of the other execs were concerned—this was down to me and James. Second was that Laurent was depending on his ability to sway the other execs. Third was that I had already earned their respect enough that they were continually apologizing for Laurent's behavior towards me through all of this, leading me to believe that I had just as much pull as he did—perhaps more since it seemed they were already moderately suspicious of him for dragging this out for weeks and his not so subtle hostility toward me.

My once shattered confidence had pieced itself back together and was stronger than ever. When they called me in for what I assumed was one last chance to prove myself to them, I walked into the conference room with my head held high and didn't waste any time.

"If there is ever a time to push modesty aside, I think this is it. Right, gentlemen?" I asked before allowing any of them to do more than greet me. "You've guaranteed me a position regardless of the outcome of all of this, so that tells me that you want me around to keep doing what I do. If you need me to stay here in some capacity, then there's no point in looking elsewhere. Why hire and pay a salary to someone else if you plan to have me continue with what I've already done to make this company the success that it is… the success that is allowing you to take this step?"

"You're still very young and new to this, Bella," Laurent interrupted, his voice dripping with condescension. "Plus you have other responsibilities."

I tried to fight the smirk. It hadn't come up yet, and I had wondered why until Edward's confession. I knew he was saving this as his last attempt to undermine me.

"Sure, I'm younger than many others in this industry, but I don't see how that's relevant. Years in the business does not make somebody a success. The relationships I have with people in the industry, the rapport I have with the people I work closely with"—I tapped on a sheet of paper that outlined the company's financial growth since I started working here—"and the numbers I've generated are what make me a success."

I glanced up to see Peter wink at me.

"And I know for a fact that I'm not the candidate with the least amount of experience in Live Entertainment." I shot Laurent a challenging look, feeling my confidence soar when he cringed slightly before collecting himself. He knew I was referring to James having never worked in Live Entertainment in any capacity.

"As for my other responsibilities, I don't think that having a family is unique to me." Once more, I looked at Laurent who'd always been passive-aggressively judgmental about the fact that I was a single mother. "I think the growth and expansion that I've managed to direct and oversee over the past four years proves that I know how to balance all aspects of my life."

After I'd had my say, the group dispersed quickly. The genuine smiles and sincere praise I was met with gave me hope. As soon as they were gone, Peter put a hand on my shoulder.

"I got his notice this morning," Peter said, not needing to specify Edward. I knew he was turning it in as soon as he could, not wanting to string anybody along and knowing a replacement would need to be found for him. "How are you holding up?"

I shrugged. I didn't want to talk about it. Having to play referee when he told Emmett and Jasper was more than enough for one day. "I'm doing okay."

"It's been hell these past few weeks. If you need to talk—about any of it—find me."

I nodded and watched him leave before collapsing into the chair and allowing the nervousness to creep in.

Late that afternoon, my cell phone rang as I was finishing up work on some contracts. The voice on the other end surprised me in response to the near panic I heard.

"Oh good, you're still there."

We didn't have any of Aro's clients booked for our venues for a while, so I wasn't sure what the rush to get a hold of me was. "It's not even five yet, of course I'm still here," I said with a laugh.

"No, no," he said, brushing me off. "I mean, you're still with the company. I'm at a festival in Houston with one of my artists and ran into Caius. He asked me what happened to you—that when he called into his voicemail at the office, there was a message from someone introducing himself as the new General Manager of Live Entertainment."

"Wha—" Dread bubbled from the pit of my stomach, and I dropped myself into my chair.

"So, I called in to check mine, and sure enough… the same thing," he said, continuing with no idea the near breakdown he was inciting.

"Who?" I asked, knowing already but needing confirmation.

"Oh, uh… James. Yes, he said his name was James Bel…something-or-other."

I stood and dashed across the hall, phone still in hand when I pushed open the door to Peter's office. His head shot up, and thankfully he was alone.

"This is how I find out?" I asked, thrusting the phone toward him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, legitimately confused.

"They hired James, and this is how I find out? A call from an agent double-checking to see if I'm still employed?"

He snatched the phone from my hand, and I could barely pay attention to the rapid one-sided conversation, even though it seemed to start with Peter asking Aro to repeat everything and then a string of uh-huhs, huh-uhs, whats, and absolutely nots.

I hardly noticed Peter end the call and pick up the phone on his desk. Again, I couldn't tell much from his side of the conversation aside from the fact that he was livid.

When the call ended, he sighed. "I have no idea what that asshole is trying to pull, but I've been assured that no such decision has been made. Aro's going to work on getting a recording of the message just so we can verify that it's James before we confront him about it. Why don't you head home… who knows how long this could take?"

I stood and started to walk out the door before turning around. "You'll call the second you know something?"

"I promise. Now go. No use sticking around here."

I nodded and left, quickly packing my things and heading home. I was tense all evening, and I hated it. Edward and I were on borrowed time, and I didn't like the idea of any part of it spent distracted. But he was understanding—angry at James and the situation as a whole, but understanding. When I couldn't stand rehashing my work situation, I changed the subject to his in an effort to feel some sort of reassurance about his impending absence. We made tentative plans for visits and grew frustrated with just how tentative they were. He was confident that since his shows were all pre-recorded that getting time off wouldn't be too much of a problem. But until he got a feel for the new job and I knew whether or not I even had one, we couldn't plan anything firm.

The call we'd been waiting for came in around eight. Peter managed to keep the information limited to just two of the execs so that James wouldn't find out. More than likely, he was in his hotel room thinking that the meeting planned for the morning was assembled for the purpose of gifting him this position rather than the inquiry it actually was.

I tossed and turned all night, torn between wanting to see James and Laurent squirm and wary of the confrontation. In the morning, I simply went through the motions. It felt as though I wasn't really there; I certainly wasn't taking part in anything that was going on around me.

My morning was useless. I got nothing accomplished as I sat at my desk, tapping my fingernails on the surface and watching the clock. When the big meeting began, the stretch of time spent waiting was excruciating.

The phone rang, and I dropped it, chasing it across the desk as it bounced around just out of reach. I didn't have a chance to formally answer it before I heard Peter chuckle from the other end.

"Can you come down here now?"

I didn't want to go down there blind—though it seemed like a slim chance, there was still the possibility that James and Laurent had talked their way out of this mess. "Is it good? Bad?"

He paused for a second. "It's… different."

"What do you—?"

"Just come on down here, okay?" he said calmly.

I heard the click and returned my phone to its cradle.

When I made it down to the lower floor, the first thing I noticed was salespeople hovering and whispering. I couldn't make out what they were saying and didn't want to wait around to find out when I could simply go straight to the source.

I pushed on and stopped in front of 'the fishbowl,' noticing that they had pulled the blinds on all of the windows so that nobody could see inside. The scene that awaited me was not what I had been expecting. Instead of James and Laurent, I saw Rosalie and Jessica sitting with the rest of the execs and Peter.

The confusion on my face said enough; I didn't even have to ask. I could hear the others talking but couldn't draw my attention away from Rosalie, silently asking her what she was doing here and what the hell happened. She looked irritated, ready to throttle somebody, but she managed to smile and mouth the words 'it's okay' to me through whatever it was.

"Do you gentlemen mind if I…?" Peter asked, motioning to me as the execs smiled and nodded.

He slid a contract over to me. "The job is yours. Apparently, these guys weren't on the same page as Laurent, and it was yours all along."

My eyes shot up to his in disbelief then over to Rosalie who smiled and nodded.

"This isn't the current contract, but with everything that has happened lately, we figured it best to show what our intentions were from the start," I heard someone say, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the contract.

Peter pulled the paper from under my hands and flipped to the last page and pointed to a short line of text at the bottom. June first. The contract had been dated June first.

"But I thought…"

Again, I couldn't tell who was speaking or if it was even a single person, but in the back of my mind I listened though I couldn't tear my eyes away from the date.

"As far as those of us in this room were concerned, there was no competition. Please be assured that none of us had any idea what Laurent's intentions were, though we all had grown suspicious over the past few weeks. We did need to go through a hiring process, but it was a formality. We allowed Laurent to stretch things out much further than necessary, and it seems that in doing so, we apparently gave him the impression that his little protégé had earned our favor."

I suddenly remembered why they had all been gathered in the conference room, and the glaring absences and odd additions took precedence over my job offer.

"Where are they? What happened?"

I noticed everybody shift uncomfortably. One look at Rosalie was all it took to see that she was out for blood. Jessica, who had been completely silent up to this point, stared at her hands as she wrung them together. But it was Peter who spoke up.

"We had security escort Laurent, James, and Lauren out just before you came down."

I looked around the room quickly once more, shocked. "What happened? And wait—Lauren?"

I saw Peter glance at Jessica momentarily before turning back to me. "I learned this morning that James had apparently promised Lauren a promotion and one hell of a raise if she would help him out. She's been stealing things from your office—information he could use to help his case, like your address book for contact information."

I gasped involuntarily then felt the nausea rolling as I thought of all the things I'd thought I had misplaced recently, blaming it on being distracted trying to hang onto a job that was apparently always mine.

"I should've come forth sooner," Jessica said, breaking her silence before pausing in nervousness when all eyes turned to her. "I knew that James had talked her into helping him—they asked me to help, too, but I swear I didn't. I know we aren't exactly best of friends, but I couldn't do that to you… to anybody. I didn't know how far they were taking it until I tried to find a form in her desk that I needed. On Friday, I saw copies of things that I knew were yours—faxes, contracts, things like that. I thought she was just telling him what she knew about you personally—not that it excuses anything, but still…"

I was completely dumbstruck at the knowledge that this girl who'd had it out for me for over ten years had sold out her best friend for my benefit. I couldn't have seen anything like that coming.

I heard Peter clear his throat and looked back at him. "She came into my office first thing this morning and told me everything. We confronted them all, and they ended up selling each other out. It got a little heated, and we had to have security escort them out with orders not to allow them to return. Lauren was only allowed to stay long enough to clean out her desk."

I turned to the executives at the other end of the table to assess their reactions. Unsurprisingly, they were apologetic. "We're very truly sorry this happened and hope that it doesn't affect your opinion of us as a whole. We'll be leaving here in the morning—hopefully with your signed contract in hand—so that we can head back to the office to discuss with the attorneys what recourse we have to make sure none of the parties involved have the opportunity to pull something like this again."

All of the execs nodded in agreement.

"So do I sign this one, or…" I trailed off, unable to speak. My voice was shaky, and I wasn't sure why. I could only guess that it was taking a while to process everything.

"We'll get you a new one," Peter said with a wink.

Everyone stood and started saying their goodbyes. I noticed Jessica trying to slip past everybody, and I broke from the surrounding crowd to catch her by the door.

"Jess."

She turned, and the look on her face caused my heart to go out to her. We would never be friends, but I couldn't help but feel bad for the position she had been put in, the decision she had been forced to make.

"Thank you," I said. It was simple and maybe not enough considering how easy it could've been for her to simply keep quiet, but it was sincere.

She nodded and forced a small smile before walking out.

I turned and was immediately assaulted by Rosalie, who nearly tackled me to the ground with the force of her hug. "You did it. Those assholes will get what they deserve—hell, the damage this will do to their reputations means they don't have a chance of working in this industry again."

I smiled at her, still unable to believe this was real

"Ugh, now if only your idiot boyfriend would've waited a few days."

I held my hand up to stop her. "Rosalie, please?"

"I know, I know," she said with a huff. "Sorry. I just need to kick his ass a little to vent this and I'll be fine."

When we left the conference room, people were still milling around in hopes they'd be the first to find out what had transpired. Rosalie and I huddled together, talking quietly to one another and avoiding eye contact with everybody, hoping they'd realize that we weren't spilling.

As soon we made it upstairs, I headed straight for Edward's office with Rosalie breaking off to go find Emmett to fill him and Jasper in for me.

Edward didn't see me at first, so I stood in the doorway and watched him repeatedly hit a key on the keyboard with increasing force.

"Trying to beat it into submission won't work," I said, smiling at the look of frustration on his face when he glanced up at the sound of my voice.

He stood and walked around the desk, and I shut the door behind me as I stepped inside, not wanting others to hear until Peter decided how much should be public knowledge.

I inhaled deeply when my nose pressed into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me, finding his scent to be instantly calming. After a moment where neither of us spoke, I turned my head to lay my cheek against him before quietly saying, "I got the job."

I felt him pull back, and when I looked up, the pride and happiness on his face made me want to cry. "Really?"

I nodded and laid my cheek back against him, sighing at the feel of his tightening grip. "Yeah, they showed me the original contract from June to prove that it was always mine, regardless of what Laurent's intentions were."

"I shouldn't have—"

"Shh," I warned. "No use worrying about it now."

"Yeah, but—"

"'Yeah, but' nothing. What's done is done, and we can't do anything to change it, so please stop apologizing." Each apology was another reminder that he was leaving and hurt worse than ignoring what had happened.

We stayed like that as I relayed everything I had found out about Laurent, James, and Lauren. He was shocked, angry, but overall grateful that they'd all self-destructed before damaging my career. By the time we left for the day, a huge weight had been lifted. The only thing we had to do now was survive the next year.


	29. Boomerang

**Thanks Beans827 & Shug for getting this back so quickly!**

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**EPOV**

A lack of control in a situation is enough to lead any person to make stupid decisions. That was the only excuse I could come up with for not thinking things through before signing that contract and returning it. If I had just waited a few more days, if I had just spoken to Bella first, if I had just taken ten damn minutes to actually think…

It wasn't like they were going anywhere. The syndicators had been in regular contact since Vegas trying to bring me aboard, and I'd managed to avoid most of their calls or politely decline their offers when they did get me on the line. They would have waited however long it would have taken for me to figure out that this was a bad move.

It was a good offer—extremely generous and flattering regardless of my interest—but it would require a move, and that hadn't been an option. They couldn't have called at a worse time for me. After spending weeks unable to actually do anything to fix the situation and having just overheard that conversation between James and Laurent, I had never been more desperate to have a real, tangible way to help. I hadn't been thinking clearly, obviously, and only took into consideration the opportunities this would open up and not the problems it could cause.

I was close to caving; they knew it, but they sensed my hesitation. Stupidly I opened up when they asked what held me back. These guys were old pros and tag teamed me on that conference call. A couple of them recognized Bella's name and mentioned an opening they knew about and offered to put in a word for her so that she could make a similar transition to L.A. They were certain that the powers-that-be would be eager to bring her into their fold, never expecting her to be available. That was all it took for me to cave.

My hand shook and nausea rolled in as I signed and sent those papers back. A big part of me knew I was making a mistake, but my need to fix, fix, fix wouldn't let me focus on that.

When I found out that Laurent was the only person to think that the job ever belonged to James and that the rest of the execs had always considered it Bella's, I was even angrier at myself. It had all been for absolutely nothing.

And I was pretty pissed at them for stringing us all along—especially her—for so long over something that should've been resolved in the first week. I was pretty sure they realized how badly they'd screwed up as well when the new version of the contract that was presented to Bella was significantly more generous than the first one they had shown her. They claimed that it was because she had managed to prove herself more than they'd ever expected during the process and that they felt she deserved to be better compensated. I was willing to bet it was their attempt to deflect their massive oversight in allowing Laurent to try and upend Bella's entire life just to secure his buddy's future, to establish somebody in this market to do his bidding and stroke his ego.

The final weeks before I needed to leave passed with little rest. Bella was busy with her regular work, and the added responsibility of setting up a whole new company since, for so long, live entertainment shared resources with radio. I finished out my notice then spent time packing up my apartment and storing most of the boxes in Bella's garage—I was taking only the bare minimum with me.

Her birthday came and went with little fanfare, per her request and at Alice's annoyance. It was a quiet dinner out with friends, but still enough for Bella to grumble over the attention. I thought that my screw-up had affected the mood, but everyone assured me that Bella was always that difficult about her birthday. It didn't really make me feel any better—it was only one night of many that wasn't my fault.

Telling Max had been the hardest, something Bella and I both dreaded.

I sat down with him and tried to explain that I was leaving in the simplest way possible, but it still wasn't enough.

"You come back in a few days?" he had asked. He'd grown used to Bella's short trips for work and the couple we'd taken over the summer, so it was no wonder his mind thought this was just like the others.

I shook my head. "No, I'm going to live far away for a little while."

He didn't say anything, but I could see the wheels turning in his mind as he tried to figure out what I meant.

Bella had stepped in at that point. "You know how Grandma and Phil live far away but they call all the time and we visit each other? It'll be just like that."

He didn't speak to me for two days.

Even the tongue-lashing from my mother didn't compare to the feeling of Max's sadness.

My peace offering came in the form of a pirate themed telephone for his bedroom that matched the décor.

"You know I love you, right?" He nodded. "I'm going to visit as much as I can, we'll talk all the time, and I'll be back for good before you know it."

With a promise that he could call whenever he wanted just by hitting the speed dial, and my word that I'd be back in a few weeks for his birthday, he reluctantly forgave me.

And Bella… she was stoic, passive almost, as the days drew closer. I knew she was holding back, so it shouldn't have surprised me when everything came to a head the night before I was to leave. Everyone at work had planned this big going away thing at a local bar that I felt obligated to attend. The plan was for both of us to go together and head home relatively early, but when I returned to her house after picking up the last boxes from my place and dropping off the key on my way out, she was sitting in the living room in pajama pants and a tank.

"You aren't ready yet?" I asked. I just wanted to get this night over with so that we could come back here and be alone. If we had to wait for her to get ready, we were never going to get out of there at a reasonable time.

Her breath shuddered. "I'm not going."

She wouldn't look at me, so I walked over, crouching in front of her to try to force her to. "Why?"

"I can't say goodbye to you in front of all of those people."

I opened my mouth to speak, not really knowing what I would say, but she continued.

"I just… I don't want to do this on your last night here. I should've done this sooner, said something earlier. But I've been sitting here, thinking, driving myself crazy. I've been holding everything in, and if I don't say something before you leave then it's just going to sit there and fester and be so much worse."

Her voice raised in pitch with ever word. She took a deep breath and finally looked at me. "I hate this. I hate that you're leaving. I hate that I'm angry with you. I hate that you made such a huge decision without talking to me first."

My stomach twisted in my gut, wondering if this was it, if it was over, if I'd pushed her too far with my rash behavior.

"If this is going to work, if it's going to last, you can't make decisions like that for me. I get that you thought you were helping, but I can't figure out in what universe a split-second decision to drag three people a couple thousand miles away before getting the facts could be considered helpful."

"I know I fucked up—" I could hear the defensiveness in my clipped tone before she cut me off.

"I hate what you've done," she said, repeating that one word that scared me the most, "but I love you. I just need to know that it won't happen again. I can't do _this_ if that's the kind of problem-solving I can expect in the future."

"It was one mistake," I argued.

"Yes, one mistake, but look at the effects. There is no simple resolution, no magic fix. We're doing the best we can with it, but no matter what we do, it still hurts."

My head dropped in defeat, unable to argue, unable to defend myself. "I promise. I know how bad that decision was. I can't see myself ever coming close to repeating it. It kills me to see what my poor judgment has done… I couldn't bear to do this to you again."

Her voice quieted when she spoke again. "I'm not ready to say goodbye. I don't know that I'll ever be. So, please… don't make me say it in front of an audience. Don't make me stand there and listen to them say it to you over and over."

The tears that had been threatening finally fell as she started sobbing, and we held onto each other until she pushed me out the door. I was ready to bail on the plans as well, but she insisted that I needed to at least show up since they'd gone through the effort to organize something for me.

When I walked into the bar, Emmett took one look at me, asked where Bella was, then promptly pushed me toward the door with instructions to "go home."

She was already in bed when I got back. I climbed in behind her, afraid to get too close. After a few moments, she rolled over to face me, and for the longest time, neither of us moved, just stared. Eventually she reached out and started tracing my jaw, nose, brow… anything she could touch as if trying to memorize it. Before long we were completely entwined, desperate, hanging on to each other but never close enough, trying to say goodbye in the only way that we could in that moment.

And in the morning, the last image I had to take with me was a crying Max clutching Bella with his face buried in her shoulder as I drove away.

The trip was miserable as were those three weeks I had to survive before I saw them again. I talked to Bella and Max every day, but it wasn't enough. The new job kept me busy, but it didn't keep me completely distracted, and I spent a lot of time dwelling on my mistake. The nights she wouldn't allow Max to get on the line were the worst for my guilt. He'd been giving her a hard time, tantrums that I was sure she was downplaying, and when time outs failed, revocation of phone privileges succeeded.

The flight back to Seattle was unnerving. Over the phone everything seemed okay; at least, as okay as one could expect given the circumstances. But part of me worried that everything would be different. The thought plagued me right up to her driveway. The house still felt like home, but I had no idea what would happen once I walked inside. Would we fall back into old routines for the next few days? Or would the dynamic have completely changed, already making things awkward and strange?

I stepped out of the rental and quickly walked to the door, letting myself in after a moment of wondering if that was still acceptable.

The sound of tiny footsteps beating across the floor accompanied the shout of my name as Max launched himself at me.

"Hey, there," I said, holding on as tight as I could. "I missed you so much."

"Missed you, too," he mumbled into my shoulder, and I kissed the side of his head before my eyes caught Bella on the other side of the room.

Max unlocked his arms from around my neck, and I looked down to see a toothy grin. "I'm gonna be four," he announced with pride, and I laughed, so relieved at how normal everything felt.

"Tomorrow," I said, and he grinned wider before I set him down on the ground and hurried over to Bella, wasting no time taking her into my arms. "God, I missed you."

"Phone calls aren't the same," she said before our mouths collided. I was amazed at the appreciation that came along with three weeks of not being able to kiss her, touch her. It was something we took advantage of as often as possible all weekend, and by the time I had to leave again, we'd decided to do whatever it took to make sure we never went more than a few weeks without seeing each other. Neither of us cared that our improved financial situations were now mostly devoted to helping out the struggling airline industry. It was a small price to pay.

We'd managed to squeeze a lot into that weekend. In addition to Max's entire pre-school class taking over the zoo for his birthday, Bella took me to the now completed and functional theatre. The grand opening happened the week after I left and was a huge success. She beamed with pride as we walked around and she talked about how well the first few shows had gone. Though she had already told me during our nightly conversations, seeing her excitement made the stories feel new.

There was still some construction going on. They had decided to give Live Entertainment its own office space, and plenty had come with the theatre, so it was only natural that they'd complete the remodel and move everybody there.

Knowing that we were still okay and that our relationship was strong enough to withstand the distance made the next few weeks much more bearable. The nature of syndicated radio, having everything pre-recorded, meant that everyone worked their tails off the first part of November so that they could take off for Thanksgiving. We were busy recording segments to stockpile for that week with topics neutral enough to hide the fact that they weren't current.

With a sigh of relief, I was on yet another plane headed for Seattle.

I still regretted my decision to sign that contract—God did I regret that decision—but if there was a silver lining to be found, it had to be the abundance of reunion sex. We were both eager to make up for lost time, and the first few nights we rarely slept. Of course, that all changed when her father showed up to spend a few days over the holiday.

And if I thought I was nervous the first time I met Charlie, it was nothing compared to the fear of facing him after my monumental blunder.

He was a little more distant than he had been back in June, but not completely unfriendly. He was civil, at least, when greeting me. But the moment he had me alone, he didn't hesitate to grill me in the way only he could. He didn't need a lot of words to make me feel like the subject of an elaborate investigation.

"You left," he said, and as hard as I tried, I couldn't figure out his tone. Accusing? Observational? Disappointed?

I nodded and clasped my hands together in an attempt to hide how nervous he made me. "I messed up."

"Trying to fix it?"

"Every day."

Silence stretched, and I began to sweat.

"It hasn't even been two months and you've been back twice." Again, I couldn't read his objective.

And once more, I nodded. "They're flying down in a couple weeks. Then I'll be back for Christmas and New Years."

I chanced a glance to see him watching me, his dominating expression making me feel two feet tall.

"Don't hurt them again." And with that he stood up and headed toward the kitchen, startling me when he patted my shoulder from behind on his way out.

I was gone only two weeks before they came to visit, the entire crew in tow. Thankfully, everyone else stayed in a hotel and spent most of their time sight-seeing and Christmas shopping, leaving me, Bella, and Max with plenty of time together.

"So, what do you want to do?" I asked, not sure how I was going to play tour guide but willing to try.

"I don't know—why don't you show us the places you like to go?" Bella said, and I started to fumble for words.

"Yeah, I don't really, uh, do much. Just here… work…" I trailed off, embarrassed that I'd been living here for two-and-a-half months and unless they wanted to see what a supermarket in Los Angeles looked like, I didn't have much to offer.

Bella just looked at me, contemplative, before she looked to see that Max was distracted. She sighed, reaching out to put a hand on my arm. "I know you feel guilty about everything that happened, but you don't have to shut yourself down while you're here. You can have a life."

"I do have a life," I said as I pulled her closer and wrapped my arms around her. "I don't need to visit all the tourist hotspots. I just need to go to work and know you'll be on the other end of the phone when I get home and waiting for me when I come back. I have gone out, and yeah it's been for work, but none of it interests me. I'm just killing time here."

She didn't look completely convinced, but she didn't push.

We ended up braving the crowds and finishing our own Christmas shopping in one day, unwilling to devote any more of the little time we had to getting caught up in the holiday rush. But I knew I'd have at least one more trip after making mental notes on what Max seemed most excited about in the toy stores.

Restaurants were packed, so we rerouted to pick up take-out instead of waiting an hour or two for a table. Lesson learned, I wasn't assuming anything without discussing it first, so I dove in as I helped Max into a chair at the small table in the kitchen. "So, I talked to my mom the other day."

"How is she? I haven't talked to her in a while." Bella's face lit up, and I chuckled. I was pretty sure that Mom called Bella more than she called me.

"Good. They're both good." I don't know why I was so nervous; I knew Bella wouldn't object. "They, uh, they were wondering if you minded them coming to Seattle for Christmas."

"Really?" Bella's grin widened. "Why in the world would I mind?"

"They're coming to see me on Christmas?" Max asked, just as excited as Bella.

I nodded. "They can stay in a hotel and come over Christmas morning or something…"

"There's plenty of room at the house. It might be chaotic, but they shouldn't stay in a hotel."

I shrugged. "I didn't know with everyone you have coming in…"

"Please," Bella scoffed as she rolled her eyes and waved her hand. "It's just Charlie, Renee, and Phil."

Again, Max perked up. "Grandma and Phil are coming too?"

"Oops," Bella said with a laugh. "Guess I forgot to mention that. Yep, Grandma called to tell me the other day."

Max cheered, and a random thought popped into my head, something I'd always wondered and never mentioned. "Why does Max call Phil by his name instead of Grandpa or something like that?"

Bella threw her head back and laughed. "That was per Phil's request."

"So, does he not want to—"

Bella waved her hand to cut me off as she took a drink. "No, no. Nothing like that. My mom is… well, my mom's a cougar." I burst into laughter, and Bella continued her explanation through her own chuckles. "Phil is closer to my age than hers. He adores Max, but the idea of being called a grandfather at his age kind of freaks him out. He was only five years older than you when Max was born."

The look of horror that crossed my face caused Bella to laugh harder.

"Um, yeah, I don't blame him." I coughed uncomfortably before eventually laughing myself.

I had a little over a week off for Christmas and New Years and planned to spend every second possible back in Washington, but unfortunately the airlines didn't want to cooperate. I had booked the earliest flight possible, planning to leave from work, hop a plane, and make it there by dinner. Some sort of malfunction that delayed the flight before cancelling it altogether derailed that plan and I was booked for the last flight out while waitlisted for earlier ones. I'd even had them search flights heading for nearby airports, but with the holidays, there was nothing open, and the waitlists were just as unpredictable.

So instead of making it there in time to meet my parents at the airport so that Bella didn't have to navigate the big introductions on her own, I found myself tiptoeing into a mostly silent house well after midnight.

The lights were out, but the television was flickering from the living room. I dragged my bags in, hoping to see Bella but finding her mother instead.

She heard me enter and turned her head, instantly assessing me then smiling in approval before she stood up and walked toward me. "Edward?"

"Yeah. It's good to finally meet you, Mrs.—"

"Just Renee," she interrupted as she reached out. Ah, another hugger; she must've gotten along well with my parents. "So glad you made it safely."

"A little later than I planned." I looked around, but nobody else was awake.

"She tried to wait up but fell asleep on the couch about an hour ago. I finally had to roll her off and force her to go to bed."

I nodded, disappointed that Bella had had to wait so long. Then I remembered that Renee and Phil had just flown in that morning. "Aren't you tired?"

"Me? Oh, no. I'm wide awake. You know, time difference and all." Bella always joked that her mom was flighty and not always that bright, but did she really forget how the time zones worked? It would be about four in the morning according to her internal clock. I chuckled and nodded, not wanting to correct her.

I left the suitcase full of gifts in the living room after saying goodnight and carried the one with my clothes up the stairs. I entered the room as quietly as possible and at first just stood there, watching Bella sleep. My heart clenched; I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand keeping up with this distance. An idea had been simmering in my head, and I knew I needed to talk to her about it but I wanted to speak to an attorney to make sure it was feasible before I gave her any false hope.

Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, I closed the door and eliminated the small amount of light provided by the hall. I tread softly to my side of the bed, stripping down to my boxers, and like I'd done so many times before, I climbed in behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tightly to me.

She didn't wake, but she released a contented sigh. I nuzzled my nose into her hair and whispered, "I love you," before drifting off to sleep.

When Bella said it 'might be chaotic' that could've been the understatement of the century. In addition to a house full of parents, our friends were over constantly. It was nothing to have a dozen people around at one time, bumping into each other, a steady buzz of conversation, the clang of pots and pans since it seemed that someone was always cooking or baking something. I loved every second of it.

As an only child, Christmases were always small. With just the three of us, things had always been relatively subdued—not that the holidays ever felt lacking. And in those rare moments we had alone at night—when we weren't quietly attacking each other—Bella described her childhood Christmases in much the same manner. Having a house bursting with guests, a frenzy of activity, and a perpetual mess no matter how many times things were picked up, was completely foreign to both of us, but it felt right.

Not that I had expected negativity, but it was a little bit of a surprise to see how well Bella's parents got along given their history and even more of a surprise to see how well they accepted me and my parents usurping their daughter and grandson's time and attention.

And Max certainly wasn't arguing about all of the interest he received. As the only kid around, he hit the jackpot. Christmas morning the gifts under the tree spilled out and covered half of the living room floor. It looked like Santa's workshop exploded.

And as much as we loved our chaotic Christmas, we loved when they all left a few days later. Renee and Phil were the last to leave, and as soon as the door was closed, we looked at each other.

"It's so quiet," Bella whispered as if afraid to disrupt the silence. We both listened to nothing for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

We declined invitations to go out on New Year's Eve, opting to spend the evening together. Max didn't really understand much about the holiday, so he was easily convinced to go to bed just past nine after watching the ball drop in New York City.

Our original plans to celebrate with food, drink, and whichever televised coverage seemed most interesting were happily shuffled to the side when we passed Bella's room and detoured inside. The door slammed shut in the same instant our mouths crashed together. Bella fisted her hands in my shirt, trying to drag me to the bed, and I reached out to lock the door before I caved. A breadcrumb trail of clothing was left behind us as we tumbled onto the mattress. Gripping, tasting, licking, biting, it was a fury of passion that only intensified once I was finally inside of her.

We never made it back downstairs, and when the sound of questionably procured fireworks and the bangs of pots and pans rang through the air outside, we whispered 'I love yous' that implied promises for the year to come. The hour brought with it a blank slate, and I was more determined than ever to fix my mistake.


	30. Stuck With Me

**Thanks Beans827 & Shug for betaing!**

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BPOV

I found myself in random moments still angry about the decision that drove Edward away from here. Even months later, it tore at me. After the past few years of brushing off the idea of a relationship, it felt like a tease to finally let my wall down and experience everything he had to offer only to have it ripped away.

I felt the anger those nights alone in bed after Max had gone to sleep, after Edward's phone call, after I should've been asleep myself. I felt it the days that I came home from work exhausted and had nobody around who knew instinctively where the kinks in my neck, back, and shoulders were that needed to be worked out before I could relax. And I sure as hell felt it when Max started throwing temper tantrums, breaking and throwing things, until I allowed him to call Edward. It was a rough couple weeks, but I put an end to that real quick.

But mostly, I went about my life as it had once been. I had work, I had Max, and I had my friends to keep me busy. And I had Edward's visits to look forward to, and as angry as I would get from time to time, it didn't lessen my need to have him here.

He made an effort, as much as he could with as limiting as the distance was. He didn't have to devote so much time to calling and visiting, but he did, and never once did he act like it was a burden. He needed us as much as we needed him. And even though it was hard, we often discussed the things about the separation that took their toll on our lives. Neither of us allowed the little annoyances and difficulties to build up; instead we addressed them and found ways to avoid them in the future.

When I wasn't jaded by my frustration over the situation and could look at it objectively, I could see that the extra effort seemed to be making us stronger. Things had come so easily to us. Even in the beginning when I was irrationally difficult about letting him in, I hadn't lasted more than a handful of weeks. We were handed this little window of bliss and hadn't had to test our bonds against anything substantial.

This was one hell of a test, but we seemed to be handling it better than I could have hoped. It was worth the extra work to make sure that we were okay.

Late January, I had to be in L.A. for a conference, and it felt strange not having Max with me. Granted, we'd only made one trip, but in general, it seemed odd not to include him after all of the visits over the previous few months.

It felt even stranger to be staying in a hotel, but it was more convenient for the conference and all of the after-hours schmoozing where most of the real work was done. Sitting at dinner or the hotel bar, deals were made, suggestions offered, and ideas shared.

I had spent the afternoon after check-in relaxing when my original plans fell through and was just coming out of the bathroom after cleaning up to head down to the lobby to start the requisite socializing when a rapid pounding beat at my door.

After checking the peephole, I opened the door to a concerned Edward.

"What happened? Why didn't you come over?"

I chuckled and decided to tease. "Well, hello to you, too. I missed you, too. So glad to see you, too."

He blinked a few times before he processed my words.

"Shit, sorry." He reached out and pulled me to him, kissing me deeply to complete the apology. "Okay, so where were you?"

"I went by your office," I told him, confused. "The receptionist said you had to run out at the last second for an interview and that you left a message that you'd just see me later."

His head dropped back so that he stared at the ceiling and sighed. "I was there all day. I never left, and I certainly didn't leave that message."

"Oh," I said, then laughed and shrugged. "Guess that shouldn't surprise me."

He groaned in irritation and rubbed his face with one hand. "What else did she say?"

"Well, when I asked for you, she went on and on about how wonderful you are, asking if I agreed, and how much time you two have been spending together…"

His eyes widened, and he began stuttering, "I haven't… she's not…"

I laughed harder. The girl had been way too easy to read, and I knew she was lying. "I know. She tried to act like she didn't know who I was when she asked for my name and was just a little too saccharine in her remorse." I widened my eyes and covered my mouth while offering a high pitched "oops" in imitation.

"She knew exactly who you were… everyone in that building knows who you are even if they haven't met you."

"So, I take it you have an admirer?"

He rolled his eyes at my joke. "Pain in my ass is more like it. I usually ignore her, but _this_ really pisses me off."

We had moved to the bed without me having noticed—sneaky bastard—and I ran my hands through his hair to ease his agitation over the situation. "Yeah, it was childish and immature, but don't let her get to you."

"No, it's more than that. I mean, yeah, she didn't know what she was interrupting, but I had something pretty big to talk to you about at lunch, and instead, I spent the rest of the day being totally useless."

"Why didn't you call?"

"I tried. It went straight to voicemail." He cocked an eyebrow up at me, and I scrambled for my purse. Sure enough, I'd forgotten to turn my phone back on when my flight landed.

"Crap, sorry." I turned to see a smug look on his face; he was enjoying the fact that it was my fault. "Why didn't you just call the hotel?"

"Like I said, I was useless, so I cut out early and just came over. Good thing you put my name on the reservation, you probably wouldn't have answered this phone either."

I shot him an offended look, and he winked and tugged me back to him.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"This requires a little background, so bear with me." He took a deep breath; the fact that he had to prepare himself worried me. "Okay, so the show is doing really well. A lot of stations across the country have picked us up already. Even more are seriously considering it. They're pushing hard to extend the contract as soon as possible, knowing that having me locked in for a longer time frame will ease some of the concerns of those who haven't yet signed on."

My heart raced as I thought about what this meant, but I let him continue before I panicked.

"Right now, a bunch of stations aren't willing to take us on, not knowing if the show they've committed to will be repackaged with new people in less than a year. I've been speaking to an attorney to make sure I don't screw things up, and we both think this gives me a lot of room for negotiation."

He paused to look at me, most likely trying to assess my reaction. I could feel myself trembling, shaking with worry over what he was trying to say. "What kind of negotiation?"

A small grin materialized on his face before he turned serious. "I'm trying to not get my hopes up, and I don't want to get yours up either, but I wanted you to know where things stood. We're going to try to convince them to move production to Seattle."

Tears pricked my eyes. "Really?" He nodded, and my breath shuddered. "You think they'll go for it?"

His hand ran through his hair, and I could see the excitement he was trying to hide in his eyes. "I don't know. I hope so, but we haven't gone to them with this yet, so it's hard to tell. My attorney thinks that they'll see the potential growth if they have a longer contract with me and cave. It's not like it makes much of a difference where it's recorded. Plenty of artists come through Seattle that we can get in for interviews, and if I need to, I can fly back here for a few days when different events are going on."

I bit my lip trying to hide my smile, but it didn't work. He leaned backwards, taking me with him until we were cuddled on the bed, faces inches apart.

"My attorney wants me to hold out a bit, make them desperate because he thinks…" he paused for a moment and tried to fight his own grin. "Remember, trying not to get my hopes up here… but he thinks we can convince them to renegotiate the terms of the current contract to move production as soon as possible."

My breath halted immediately, and before I could say anything, he kissed me again, biting at my lower lip before pulling it into his mouth, releasing when he couldn't hold back his grin any longer. With his lips still against mine, he mumbled, "It's really hard not to get my hopes up."

"But if they say no, if they don't agree to moving?" I didn't finish my question. I didn't need to.

"I'm still coming back at the end of it, with or without a new contract. That part is non-negotiable."

I sighed in relief at the determination in his voice, and after another twenty minutes of talking and kissing, we headed down to the lobby before things got too heated and we missed the scheduled welcome events entirely.

We didn't have as much time together this time around since we were both working. My evenings were devoted to various activities organized for the conference, but at least he was by my side for all of that. Having him close and trying to make me laugh while we were bored out of our minds was definitely preferable to having to go it alone, so while I mourned the loss of private time together, it was better than the alternative.

The next couple of months had us on edge, waiting to see how everything played out. We still made regular trips back and forth, Max and I spent a week in Florida visiting Renee and Phil since we hadn't had the chance in a while, and with everything else going on, time flew by lightning quick. The only thing slowing down progress was that contract.

Edward had become so frustrated with playing the game that he had stepped back entirely from negotiations. It was something he and his attorney had mutually agreed upon; his desperation the first time led to him hastily accepting an offer that he wouldn't have otherwise, so now it was left up to the attorney to handle all of the back and forth. And this guy was a fierce negotiator. It wasn't that they weren't unwilling to allow Edward to move back; it was that they knew how badly he wanted it to happen and were attempting to lure him into signing a deal that was less than what he was worth since they knew they had a bargaining chip.

He came back mid-April for a few days that coincided with his move to Seattle last year. He treated it like an anniversary and wasn't having it when I tried to argue that it technically wasn't.

"You realize it was, like, over a month later, right?" I had teased.

He shot me a cocky smirk and leaned in, teasing me by keeping his lips a hairsbreadth from mine. "I had you from the second you saw me. You were just too stubborn to admit it."

I had let out an offended squeak that made him laugh right before kissing me hard enough to keep me from arguing. By the time Max ran in and broke things up, demanding Edward's attention, I had forgotten what I was planning to argue about anyway.

But as I watched the two of them running back and forth on a makeshift field in my back yard preparing for yet another round of spring league soccer, I remembered and immediately realized that he was absolutely right and that any case I made would've been shaky at best.

"You're supposed to let me win!" Max yelled out when Edward intercepted the ball and took off.

"Well, excuse me." He stopped running, laughing too hard, and passed the ball back to Max and watched him scamper toward the goal, easily making the unobstructed shot.

Thanks to all of the activity, Max crashed hard that night. I walked back into my bedroom to see Edward struggling with a bow and furrowed my brow, curious and amused. His thumb was running over the corner, fruitlessly attempting to separate the tape from the sticky side.

"Who's winning?" I asked, unable to remain quiet once he started cursing.

"Aha!" he yelled out in triumph when he finally managed to peel back the cover. He slapped it onto a large manila envelope and pointed at me as he narrowed his eyes. "You. Hush."

I held my hands up in surrender. "Hey, who am I to say anything when you're risking life, limb, and superficial lacerations."

He sent a playful glare in my direction as he handed me the now decorated envelope. I took it from his hands without looking away from him, wary, suspicious.

He rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "Just look."

I flicked at the ribbons now curling from the corner and laughed. "You really go all out."

"I'm a guy," he deadpanned. "You're lucky I got this creative."

I flipped the envelope over and started to undo the metal clasps just as he leaned over from his seat on the bed and tugged at the belt loop in my jeans, directing me closer so that he could force me to sit beside him. I turned to face him slightly as I pulled out the small stack of papers inside.

"What is this?" I asked, but he didn't respond. He just waited for me to figure it out on my own. Skimming the first few lines, my heart began to race. "The new contract?"

I looked up, and he nodded. "The important parts are flagged."

Instead of marking each page he had to sign, the little tags directed me to specific sections—the sections most important to us and our future.

My breath caught when I read the first one. "They agreed to five years here."

I looked up to see an ecstatic glint in his eyes and a wide grin. I hadn't noticed the tears forming until he reached out to catch the first to fall with his thumb. "Keep going."

I took a rallying breath and flipped to the next flag. I had to read the paragraph three times and still didn't believe it. "June first?" I whispered, too afraid to hope.

"A month-and-a-half," he responded, a wide grin stretching across his face. "If I agree to their terms within ten days, they'll have everything set up here in a month-and-a-half."

I was completely paralyzed with shock and Edward started laughing. "Baby, you okay?"

It took a few seconds and then I launched at him, hitting him in the shoulder with the contract. "You've been here all day and you're just now telling me?"

There was no venom in my words, only relief, and he laughed harder as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms.

"I enjoyed the suspense," he said matter-of-factly as I melted into him.

"Six weeks," I whispered to myself in awe. I pulled my head back to look at him. "Is the contract good, though? I mean, they aren't selling you short or screwing you over to give you this, are they?"

"No, they're giving me pretty much everything we asked for as long as I agree quickly."

I collapsed against him in relief and buried my nose into his shoulder, right at the base of his neck. He didn't allow me time to get comfortable, though. Before I could react, he flipped me to lie on the bed underneath him. My shirt was the first to go. Then his. My jeans were next. Then his. It was like a slow tennis match, stripping down with back and forth volleys, one for one.

His mouth left mine to travel down my neck as he simultaneously skimmed his fingertips down my side. His touch was so light, it was almost nonexistent, and coupled with the warm breaths against my collarbone, my entire body shivered and my back arched.

"God, how do you do that?"

I could feel his lips turn up into a smile against my skin. "Do what?"

"I don't know. Whatever it is that you just did. No one's ever made me feel like this just from barely touching me."

He looked up and scowled at me, playful, but there was no denying it was, in fact, a scowl. "Shh. I didn't hear that. No one before me."

I chuckled at his inner caveman marking his territory.

"You know, I rode in a car to the hospital, not a donkey to a manger when Max was born."

He picked up where he had left off, kissing, biting, and licking his way across my body, but no matter how hard he tried to stifle it, I could feel his body shake with a small laugh.

"Very funny."

I ran my hands across his shoulders, looking up at the ceiling in thought and amusing myself as I continued. "I didn't check, but I guess there could've been a big star in the sky that night. We didn't follow it, though. Alice opted for road signs."

His lips moved down, working their way to my stomach, but still, he was laughing. "You can knock it off now. I'm trying to do something here."

"Wait, wait, wait!" I yelled, and his head shot up to look at me. I scrambled up to my knees and tried not to laugh at the horrified look on his face as I scooted over toward the night stand, away from him, and grabbed the phone. "What's the number to the Vatican? Maybe we should try to get the Pope on the line. He might want to start having that new section of the Bible written."

In one swift move, he wrenched the phone from my hand, tossed it back to the nightstand, and with the one arm he had around my waist, yanked my body to twist around until I was straddling his lap. I yelped in surprise, not really sure how it had happened.

The position, with nothing between us, shattered my teasing mood in an instant. I gasped when the arm around my lower back tightened, and I didn't put up a fight as he eliminated those last inches between us. The lust in his eyes burned right through mine, but I knew I was projecting the same right back to him.

"Still want to make jokes?" he asked as he shifted his hips and a light moan involuntarily left my lips. My fingers began to flex of their own accord against his back and shoulders, my entire body reacting on instinct to hold, clutch, and scratch.

We teased ourselves and each other with what would have otherwise been imperceptible movements, but no matter how small, the intensity of the moment magnified each one in order to effortlessly draw out this delicious torture.

I wasn't sure which one of us caved to temptation first—it could've been a simultaneous surrender for all I knew—but when neither of us could stand to prolong it any longer, I shifted above him as he guided my hips. We both groaned, and I dropped my head to his shoulder, exhaling shaky breaths against his skin.

We moved together, a perfectly choreographed dance, and as I looked at him, I couldn't help but wonder what was in store for us when the next six weeks had passed. There were still so many questions for the short term, and so many things we couldn't begin to contemplate for the long term, but none of it scared me.

And while I'd never claim to not change a thing if we could go back to that day in September and do it all over again, I couldn't deny that we had come out the other side stronger. I knew without a doubt that, after facing this challenge head on and surviving, it signified good things for our future.

Once we'd finally been sated, we were still reluctant to have too much space between us. With our legs tangled and my cheek resting on his chest listening to his heartbeat, we at last found enough focus to have an actual conversation.

"So, I'm thinking tomorrow, sign that contract and fax it back?"

I turned my head to face him, and he ran his hand through my hair. "It's what you want, right? You're happy with this contract?"

"It's a thousand times better than I could've hoped. I get everything I wanted without giving up anything else."

I closed my eyes, the feel of his fingers brushing the strands away from my face too soothing. "Have you thought about what you're going to do when you get back? Are you going to get another apartment, or…?"

I trailed off, not really sure why I was so nervous.

"Or?" he urged.

"Move in here." It was a command, not a completion of my previous thought. "I mean, your place was pretty much just a façade before, and with these past months, it's not like we're really fooling anybody or ourselves…"

His mouth quirked up on one side as he grinned at my incessant rambling before he moved in closer to kiss me. He pulled back just the slightest distance before exhaling a small chuckle. "I'm so glad you said it first. I didn't know how to bring up that I was planning on just inviting myself to live here."

I felt the smile stretch across my face before I attacked him with kisses.

When he left after that trip, emotions ranged from giddy one second to tormented the next. Neither of us knew what to feel in that moment. Unless some cosmic force created some sort of opening in our schedules, we wouldn't see each other until his move. I had too much going on to make any kind of extended trips, and he would be slammed with preparations to relocate the show. But knowing this was the last time we would part in this way, words couldn't express how happy it made me.

The weeks apart were exhausting. I was once again swamped gearing up for the summer concert season. I'd siphoned a few key employees from radio after the split and hired the rest. It took a while, but I was happy with the team we'd put together. My first addition was Angela—I hadn't given Peter much of a choice in the matter. I simply walked into his office and declared, "I'm taking Angela with me." She had so much more to offer than simply answering phones, so one of my first decisions was to ensure that she'd be my 'second.' Having her as my sounding board through all of the changes was invaluable, and with her at my side, the massive undertaking that was the hiring process seemed effortless. We had managed to assemble an office full of people that worked their tails off and never needed someone to look over their shoulder.

And it seemed Edward would soon be going through a similar situation. Most of the people involved with his show opted to stay in California to work on some of the other syndicated shows, and while some of the work could still be done from there, they were busy trying to find a local staff to fill the vacancies.

When I wasn't at work, it seemed like I was turning my house upside down. I knew it wasn't necessary, but I had an overwhelming urge to make sure there was plenty of room in the closet or space on bookshelves so that Edward's thing could integrate with ours when he moved.

That was how I ended up surrounded by piles of clothing while Alice sat on my bed keeping up a steady flow of commentary.

As yet another old blouse landed on top of the pile, Alice craned her neck. "I always liked that one. I can't believe you're getting rid of it."

"It has a tear in it," I answered without stopping the mass wardrobe purge. Not only did I need to make room in the closet, but this was long overdue. I'd found some pretty hideous pieces that needed to be burned.

"How much space does he need?" Alice asked. She had a tough time giving up clothes and shoes, even if she had no intentions of ever wearing them again, and couldn't fathom how easily I let go.

I laughed. "Probably not two-thirds of my closet space, but it's nice to get rid of the clutter."

Deciding that I'd done enough damage, I stepped out of the closet and started folding the clothes. Alice slid down from her spot on the bed to help me box them up.

She started to speak a few times but stopped herself. When I couldn't take it any longer, I forced her to talk. "Alice, what is it?"

She smiled and shook her head at my directness. "Nothing, I was just thinking how a part of me is still kind of surprised by all of this."

"All of what?"

"Don't get mad at me, okay?"

I frowned; nothing good ever started with that opening.

She took a deep breath and looked at me. "For so long you closed yourself off, and even though I tried to get you to open up, a big part of me was resigned to the fact that you'd willingly stay single. And then he showed up, and I can't even begin to describe how it felt to see you two so happy."

My eyes started to tear up as Alice took a moment to consider how to continue. "I was so afraid that you'd go right back to that place when he left. You tried to hide it, but I could see the toll it was taking on you before he moved. You were so confused, had no idea what to feel. I was terrified that you'd shut down. I'm just so proud of you—both of you—for handling it like adults and not allowing his mistake to ruin what you have."

At some point during her speech, we'd started hugging each other, both of us crying it out right there on my bedroom floor.

"Thank you," I whispered to her.

"Even though I still want to junk punch him for that blunder."

I laughed out loud, and the conversation quickly deteriorated into nonstop giggles. Once we'd settled down, I realized how quiet the house was.

"Max?" I yelled and then waited, trying to hear a response.

Moments later, his footsteps sounded through the hall. "Yeah?"

He walked in with a black and white furball in his arms. That was another change, our most recent. Maggie had taken in yet another rescued litter next door, and a few weeks ago, I'd caved and allowed Max to finally have one of the puppies. Okay, so maybe it wasn't so much that I'd caved; I'd fallen in love with the little guy instantly when I walked into the house to pick up Max.

Jack was an energetic ten-week-old Old English Sheepdog rescued from a puppy mill. The little guy was such a cuddler, extremely affectionate, and had quickly earned a place in our family. The way Max insisted on carrying him everywhere, I was sure the poor pup's legs would atrophy before he was big enough to escape Max's grasp.

I had texted Edward instantly that day. _You're not allergic to dogs, are you?_

_No, why?_ He'd responded moments later.

I sent a picture of Max and the puppy in answer.

_That dog better be at the house when I get home._

A box full of dog toys and treats had arrived at the house a few days later.

Knowing that Max hadn't wandered off while I was buried in out-of-date shirts and pants eased my mind. "I was just checking on you. Did you put your toys away yet?"

Max scrunched his face, evidence of his guilt, and promptly turned and left the room with the dog still squirming in his arms.

Over the next two weeks, boxes started to arrive. Edward was shipping most of his things back. Since he hadn't taken much with him, he didn't want to bother with a U-Haul. Instead, he paid a small fortune to send the things he could live without and would stuff the rest into the trunk of his car.

As much as I hated mess and disorder around the house, I loved seeing those boxes piling up. Each one represented the huge step we were about to take, and signified how soon he would be returning.

The morning he left L.A., he called to let me know that he was on the road. I was an absolute wreck, unable to hold still due to the anticipation, so a couple hours later I took Max to the park to burn off some energy. We had taken Jack and found an empty stretch of grass to throw a ball for a while, but eventually, the lure of the playground was too much.

Max immediately ditched me with the dog once the slide was in sight, so I stood around the perimeter and watched as he made a few temporary friends for the afternoon.

The weather was gorgeous, so I sat on the ground and stretched my legs, Jack cuddling up to my side before falling asleep. I tried to keep my mind focused, but it kept going back to Edward and wondering where he was at that moment, trying to guess how much closer he was.

I was startled out of my daydreaming when Max started waving just before plopping down on the slide and taking off into a run the moment his feet hit the ground. His grin was a mile wide as he sprinted over. As he neared, I noticed that he wasn't looking at me. When he ran right past me without acknowledging my existence, I turned to see where he was going, and my breath caught in my throat.

The familiarity of Max launching himself up into Edward's arms when it was the last thing I was expecting today brought tears to my eyes. I scrambled to my feet, but once I was standing, I found that I was unable to move. Instead, I was frozen in place as I watched the scene before me. Max was chatting animatedly, and Edward was laughing, though they were both too far away for me to hear anything.

They hugged, and Edward kissed Max on the cheek before lowering his feet to the ground. As he straightened back up, his eyes caught mine, and neither of us moved. I didn't even notice that Max had returned to me until I felt him tugging the leash from my hand.

Edward took a step, and that was all it took to break me out of my paralysis. I wiped the tears from my eyes, and we both rushed forward, meeting in the middle. I could've laughed at the symbolism. Instead, I threw my arms around his neck as his wrapped around my waist to lift me from the ground.

We tried to kiss, but we were both laughing, so ridiculously elated, that all we could manage were small pecks.

"How are you here?" I asked, still in awe that he was standing right in front of me. "I thought you weren't going to make it back until tomorrow night?"

He ducked his head to kiss me. "I didn't want to waste any more time. I decided at the last minute to hire someone to take care of getting my car here so that I could fly and make it back in a couple hours instead of a couple days."

He kissed me again, not that I minded the interruption to our conversation. "How did you know we were here?"

He pushed the hair away from my face, and I noticed that his showed nothing but peace and relaxation. "When you weren't at the house, I decided to swing by here before I tracked you down. Saw your car in the parking lot, and here we are."

I thought I'd been prepared for this moment, for his return, but I still couldn't help but stare up at him in wonder. "I can't believe you're home."

"Home." The word was a repeated whisper, a sigh. He held tighter, and I pressed my face to his chest, never getting close enough. "You're stuck with me now."

I looked up at him, my grin mirroring his. "That's all I've ever wanted."

So deliriously happy that I couldn't stop a laugh from bubbling up, I moved one hand to the back of his neck and urged his head closer. We kissed yet again, slower and softer, saying everything that words couldn't in that moment.

It was a new beginning for us, one that we'd worked hard to earn. I refused to call it starting over. We were moving forward with no end in sight, and I couldn't wait to see where our path led.


	31. Epilogue

**Epilogue - BPOV**

There was a buzz in the air inside the car, and yet, aside from Max singing along to the radio at loud as his lungs would allow, there wasn't a sound. There were goofy grins all around, but no one seemed to know what to say.

The song ended and a new one began, one of Max's favorites. "Turn it up, Dad!"

I looked over to see Edward's smile stretch wider—part in amusement, part in pure happiness. It certainly wasn't the first time Max had called him that, but today was different. In the past twenty minutes, he'd already managed to work it into conversation at least two dozen times, tagging nearly every sentence that he uttered with it.

Edward clicked the volume up a couple notches, then reached for my hand, his thumb passing over the rings, playing with them. This was something he did often, as if reminding himself that they were there, and I had to bite my lip to keep my grin from getting any goofier.

We were closer to home, only minutes left to enjoy the quiet. The second we stepped into the house we were bound to be ambushed, and all I wanted to do was stay right here in our little bubble.

I felt him tug at my hand to get my attention. "What are you thinking? You look so serious."

"Sorry," I said with a laugh. "Just wondering what kind of chaos we're going to walk in on. They all looked a little _too_ innocent when we left."

He laughed and pulled my hand up to kiss my palm, then held it on his lap. "I love them all, but I can't wait 'til they're gone. I walked in on a real life scene from _Sixteen Candles_ this morning."

"Oh, god. What happened?"

He chuckled at the horror in my voice. "My mom was making breakfast in the kitchen and—no lie—your mom was opening a box of Entenmann's donuts with a butter knife. All that was missing was the two inch ash hanging from a cigarette. I turned around and walked out without saying a word."

I could see it perfectly in my mind's eye and couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling up. "Yeah, she's never been all that great in a kitchen. Trust me, you don't want her doing anything more than that."

He pulled the car into the driveway, and we both shook are heads when Max called out, "We're home already, Dad?"

Everybody shouted their congratulations when we walked in, and it sounded like there were ninety people inside rather than the nine that were actually there awaiting our return. The three of us stopped short at the sight of balloons, streamers, and other decorations that filled the living room. Jack—now a furry beast of a dog—was the first to greet us, nearly knocking Max to the ground in his excitement to say hello.

It wasn't that I hadn't expected them to go all out. After all, it was a big day for our family. Imagine our surprise when we found out that the date for the hearing to finalize Edward's adoption of Max was scheduled on Max's sixth birthday. We couldn't have planned it any more perfectly.

All of the parents had arrived the day before and Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie showed up first thing in the morning to see us off. For a moment, I had a fear that they'd all try to caravan with us, but they seemed content to wait at home and prepare to celebrate, giving us three the opportunity to do this together without a circus in tow.

Max took off immediately, making the rounds as everybody—especially Edward's parents—cooed over him. The tears in Esme's eyes made my own start to water. Edward led me into the fray, but we were quickly pulled in different directions.

I only passively listened to Alice and Rosalie chatting away as I watched Charlie talk to Edward. I was a little worried about him, and though he had been nothing but supportive and understanding when we told him that Edward was going to legally adopt Max right after the wedding, I knew that deep down a little part of him was disappointed. He refused to say it, but there was something there, right under the surface, that I could see no matter how he tried to hide it. My dad was now the last 'Swan' in the family, so while he was happy for all of us, that one detail still troubled him. It wasn't something that he allowed to color his interactions with any of us, though; he was truly happy and proud.

"I'm going to steal Esme from you," I heard Alice say, and I finally checked back into the conversation.

I laughed at her random outburst and the almost whimsical tone in her voice. "What?"

"Don't get me wrong, Jasper's mom is nice and all, but she's a little… odd. And old fashioned. You hit the mother-in-law jackpot. I want an Esme for my very own." She sighed, actually sighed, as she watched Esme fawn all over Max.

"Yeah, I did," I responded as I bumped her shoulder with mine.

"Forget that," Rosalie mumbled. "What about the father-in-law jackpot? You take Esme, I'll take him."

Alice and I burst into laughter at the suggestive tone in Rosalie's voice, drawing the attention of my mother.

"So, what are you girls laughing about over here?"

"Oh, Rose is just drooling over the good doctor," Alice answered, earning a sigh of appreciation from Renee.

"And that's my cue to go," I said, walking away and causing them all to laugh harder.

Esme waved me over when she saw that I was free and patted the empty space next to her on the couch left by Max, who had apparently tagged along with Carlisle to join my dad and Edward. Esme must have been looking at the wedding album—again—when we walked in. It was open to about the halfway point on the coffee table, and I smiled at the most prominent picture on the pages.

"That one's my favorite," she said, noticing where my attention had gone.

I chuckled and shook my head. "Leave it to Max to steal the show."

The shot was taken as we were exchanging vows. Max had glued himself to my side during the ceremony, ignoring all attempts to lure him back to his place in line, and when Edward had placed the ring on my finger, Max decided he needed a closer look. The shot was an adorable black and white of him in his little tux, his neck stretched and contorted in an effort to look up at my hand from underneath. He'd had everybody laughing, especially me and Edward. It was one of those perfectly unplanned moments, and I was so glad the photographer had caught it.

"He's quite the ham," Esme agreed. She paused for a moment then leaned in closer so that she could whisper, "So, how much longer are you two going to make me wait to be a grandmother again."

I widened my eyes and laughed uncomfortably as I reached down to scratch Jack's back as he nosed around our feet, sniffing for any food that may have dropped to the ground. "This one hasn't even been one-hundred-percent legal for an hour yet," I teased.

She put an arm around me and leaned in. "Yes, and I couldn't be happier about that. But it's my job to nag early and often."

"Can I open presents now, Mom?" Max interrupted. He'd switched to 'Mom' right after starting kindergarten, and I still missed hearing him say 'Mama' instead. He was so particular about names for some reason, and I couldn't help but be amused by it. It took him weeks to decide what nickname he wanted to call Esme and Carlisle before finally deciding on 'Nana' and 'Pap.' According to his teacher, he had been polling his fellow students for ideas.

I was scared to see what Max's actual birthday party would look like over the weekend since this celebration had already graced him with a massive pile of gifts, the majority supplied Esme and Carlisle. It appeared as though anything they could find that allowed them to have 'Cullen' painted, embroidered, sewn, etched, or written on it was in their pile.

I stood off to the side so that I could watch everything and everybody, my heart absolutely bursting at the scene in front of me. The way Max and I had our start, this was something that I hadn't been sure I would ever see, but it seemed like every hard road we had to take led us somewhere infinitely worth the struggle.

I felt Edward sneak up behind me a split second before he wrapped his arms around my waist and settled his chin on my shoulder.

"It feels like they're conspiring to keep us apart," he said as he kissed my neck.

I turned to look at him, a contented smile on my face. "I don't know, I think if your mother had her way, she'd lock us in the bedroom and chase everybody out of the house."

He dropped his forehead onto my shoulder, and I could feel his chest shaking with silent laughter. "Do I even want to know what she said to you?"

"Nothing too mortifying," I assured him as I turned in his arms to face him.

His hands moved to sides, and he skimmed his thumbs skimmed up and down at the edges of my belly. His eyes dropped to watch, but it was subtle, and with my back to them blocking most of the display, nobody would be able to read too much into the gesture.

"We can tell them if you want," he said quietly.

We had only known for a couple weeks, and right now, nobody knew except for me, him, and the staff at the doctor's office. We had decided to keep it to ourselves for a while as we adjusted to the news. No matter how happy we were, it was still terrifying to think about. There was a time in my life where I had thought that with Max my fear stemmed from being alone, having no support from my ex, while trying to adjust to a new life in a new city. Apparently, I was completely wrong, and it was simply the idea of being responsible for a whole new person that had induced panic.

"Not yet," I said, shaking my head. "I don't want to take any attention away from Max... and you know when the women find out they'll obsess on paint colors, decorating, names, shopping…"

I quirked an eyebrow at him on the last word, and he ducked his head, embarrassed. "You found the bag?"

"You didn't exactly hide it. It was right there on the floor in the closet."

He shrugged, unapologetic. "I was picking up Max's birthday presents and got sidetracked. Do you know how little that stuff is? I don't know how any kid could ever fit."

I laughed, careful not to draw attention from the family behind me. "You just wait."

He again wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly to his body. "Have I told you how much I love you today?"

"Not for a couple hours."

He leaned down to kiss me as I stretched to my toes and whispered, "Unacceptable."

I grinned against his lips and held him to me with my hand at his neck. Conscious of the crowd just feet away, we didn't let it go too far and broke away moments later.

"Love you," he murmured into my ear, causing a chill to run through my body.

"Love you, too," I responded before pushing back up onto my toes for one last, quick, chaste kiss.

We were once again pulled back into the middle of the chaos, but no matter how long our friends and family kept us apart, our eyes continued to find each other from wherever we were in the room. Had it been any other day, we would've given our secret away in no time, but fortunately for us, our elation was attributed solely to Max's adoption and nobody questioned the grins that volleyed back and forth.

I felt like I was well on my way to the closest thing to a fairytale ending that real life could offer. All the puzzle pieces had fallen into place, and I could trace it all back to Edward. From the moment we met, all of our lives were permanently altered for the better, and while the road ahead of us was unclear, I knew, without a doubt, that he was leading us into our happily ever after.

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**A/N: Anyone mind a giant, epic thank you?  
**

**First, hugs and thanks to Beans827 & Shug for sticking with me to beta this beast for so long. And to Project Team Beta who worked their magic on the first few chapters. **

**Lynntjax, you were my first review EVER so huge hugs to you. And every other person to read, reviewed, rec'd... I started out being a lurker in every sense of the word. I posted my first chapter having absolutely no involvement in the fandom outside of silently reading and watching what was going on. The fact that there were people willing to take a chance still amazes me. It's so risky picking up a WIP to read, not knowing if the author will actually see it through to the end, and that risk is multiplied when it's someone like me who had absolutely no history to back me up. So thank you to everybody who tagged along, no matter at what point you joined the ride, for supporting this little endeavor. You all have real lives and a seemingly endless list of possible fics to read... I can't begin to describe how grateful I am that you all carved out a little chunk of your time for this story.**


	32. Chapter 7 Bonfire Outtake

******Thanks to my betas Beans827 and Shug!**

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**Bonfire Outtake: This was originally cut from Chapter 7 (Hometown Celebrity) and the conversation between Bella and Jake is alluded to in chapter 24. It was cut mainly because two very similar conversations seemed like overkill, too repetitive, and I felt that the conversation that occurs after Bella and Edward's relationship is established was the more important of the two. I know some of you were curious as to what happened that night.**

**I was also worried that Bella came off a little bitchy, too irritated... so we'll just say she was PMSing that day, okay? LOL!**

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"Are we there yet?"

"Can you be any more clichéd, child?" I asked, laughing at Max's excitement.

Charlie chuckled from the driver's seat. "Almost, kiddo. Just a few more minutes."

Max stretched his neck, trying to see out the window. Before long, we arrived at the beach, parking in the already crowded lot.

"Looks like everyone's coming out for this," I observed. As much as I'd dreaded the idea when Jake mentioned the bonfire, I was actually a little excited to see everybody again.

Charlie and I both stepped out of the car at the same time, but he beat me to Max's door. While he unbuckled Max from his seat and hoisted him onto his shoulders, I grabbed the bag of munchies, and we started walking toward the beach.

The sun was still another hour away from setting, casting a golden glow on the festivities, when we found everyone. Dozens of people milled around on the beach where two separate fires were already blazing with piles of wood stacked nearby ready to keep them burning.

I had to laugh as Charlie sped ahead with Max, leaving me behind, forgotten and abandoned. I watched for a moment while he showed Max off before I was pulled in the opposite direction to say my own hellos.

I managed to steal Max back about an hour later, and we found a spot near one of the fires to cook a couple hotdogs on a stick. I would have preferred a grill, but there was apparently something dominant in the male gene that made cooking outside over an open flame an exciting culinary experience. By the way Max reacted, one would have thought this was the best meal he had ever eaten.

When Jake sat down next to us, I found that I was actually surprised it had taken him so long. I didn't want this night to be more awkward than it had to be, so I greeted him first. "Hey, Jake."

"Hey," he said, slipping an arm around my shoulder. So much for not being awkward.

I didn't move away, but I refused to lean into him, as I could tell he was hoping for by the way his arm would tighten in an attempt to urge me closer.

"So, what have you been up to, Bells?" he asked.

I shrugged, indifferent. "Not much. Working, spending time with the crew, Max… " I trailed off. "How about you?"

"Well, I'm looking into opening up a garage, finally." He moved his arm away, taking the hint, at last.

"Really?" I asked, surprised. Quite a few of us had been telling him for years that he needed to stop working on cars out of the old converted shed in his backyard and do it professionally, but he never listened. I was truly happy to hear that he was seriously considering it. He already had a reputation for the quality of his work, and focusing on it as a career was a no-brainer. "You'll do great."

"Yeah, well, I figure I need to do something with myself," he said, almost shyly. "It's about time I play the part of a responsible adult."

The look on his face made me feel a little uneasy, and I could only hope that this was something he was doing for himself and not because he thought it was the way to convince me to change my mind about him and me.

"So what about you, Max? What's new with you?" he asked as he ruffled Max's hair. "Still like school?"

Max launched into stories about his teachers and some of the things he had learned in preschool. It was only a matter of time before he brought up soccer.

"I didn't know you were playing soccer," Jake told him, genuinely surprised. I wasn't sure why; it wasn't like we spoke regularly these days and he should have known already.

"Yep," Max said. "And it's _so_ much fun."

"He just started," I explained. "He had his first practice this week, so the novelty hasn't worn off yet."

Jake chuckled and asked Max to tell him more. A detailed explanation of the game, as Max understood it, followed and I tensed the moment he brought Edward's name up.

"Who's Edward?" Jake asked, curious.

"He's my friend," Max said matter-of-factly, turning back to his hotdog.

"Oh, so he's on your team?"

"No, silly." Max laughed hysterically, as if that was the most ridiculous thing Jake could have said. "He works with Mama."

I tensed even further when I saw Jake's head jerk to look at me out of my peripheral vision. I decided to ignore it for now, hoping the awkwardness would pass, and pushed the last bite of Max's hotdog further up the stick so he could take it without chomping down on the skewer. It probably wasn't the smartest move, letting him eat right off the stick, but oh well. I never claimed to be in the running for Parent of the Year.

"Really?" Jake asked Max, without looking away from me.

"Mmhmm," Max hummed through his last mouthful of dinner.

"I could have taught you to play," Jake said petulantly.

I rolled my eyes at him. "You've never played soccer a day in your life."

Just then, Charlie called over for Max to join him, and I watched as Max ran to where Charlie was sitting with Billy while they rounded up all of the kids. It seemed Billy was ready to start telling stories now that the sun was down.

When I turned back to Jake, I was met with a look that was equal parts confusion, curiosity, and hurt. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"What?" I asked, immediately regretting how defensive it sounded.

"Are you going out with him?" he asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no," I told him angrily.

He nodded his head, staring at his shoes. "Good."

"Don't even start," I warned him. I tried so hard not to get angry with him when he was trying to convince me how perfect we would be together, but this jealousy garbage pushed me over the edge. "You have no claim over me. You're a friend. And right now, you're pushing that."

His head dropped, defeated. "Sorry."

I didn't respond. I couldn't. I was on edge, and it wouldn't take much for me to completely lash out. He had no idea how his actions truly affected me, and I could admit that at least part of that was my own fault for opting to ignore his subtle attempts rather than confront him about it, waiting for a big moment like this before I redrew the line.

I slowly calmed down in the silence. When I looked over to see him looking crushed, I couldn't help but be angry at myself for feeling guilty. He was the one that was out of line.

"I just want my friend back," I whispered as I rested my head on his shoulder briefly before picking it back up. I didn't want to leave it there, giving him time to read into the action.

Before things could get more awkward than they already were, Leah interrupted us.

"Hey, you!" She reached for my hand and tugged me up into a standing position. "I haven't seen you in a while. Let's chat!"

I chuckled as she wrapped her arm around mine and pulled me away. She dragged me down the beach before we both plopped on the ground with a few other ladies our age.

"God, I don't know how you put up with it," she sighed, looking over in Jake's general direction. "I know I used to give you shit for always turning him down, but damn, I don't blame you for not listening to me."

I couldn't help but laugh. For a couple years, she and I didn't get along at all. She never hesitated to rip me apart for stringing Jake along and breaking his heart. Of course, I couldn't blame her for being moody. I couldn't imagine spending a couple years with the love of your life only to have him turn around and announce that your cousin was the love of his. Though it was difficult to see it when I was at the receiving end of her tantrums, she was simply consumed by grief and anger with no idea how to deal with it all. Her attitude changed for the better over time, and we had become good acquaintances since, perhaps even friends.

"I just wish I knew what I could say to get him to realize that it's not going to happen," I complained. "How many ways can you nicely turn someone down?"

I held my sides and wiped at tears caused by Leah's rather descriptive list of ways I could tell Jake I wasn't interested, each getting progressively more vulgar. I almost felt bad, but knew that if I couldn't find something in the situation that I could laugh at that I would drive myself absolutely insane with remorse knowing that I couldn't be what he wanted me to be, and making him so unhappy by extension.

"What's so funny over here?" a loud voice boomed from behind us.

I turned around, jumping up when I saw Seth closing in on us. "Hey, you! I haven't seen you in forever!"

He wrapped me in a hug, lifting me at least a foot off the ground. "You shrunk!"

"You grew!" I laughed as he set me back down. I hadn't seen him in a few years. He had gone off to college, and my visits home never coincided with his breaks from school. "Are you back for good?"

"Yep," he said as he stole Leah's beer just before it touched her lips.

"Give it back, asshole," she demanded. Seth just gave her a devious look as he tipped the bottle back, nearly draining it.

"Haven't changed a bit." I sighed dramatically, but couldn't fight the grin. I had missed this.

We chatted for a while before Charlie walked Max over, carrying a bag of marshmallows and a couple of sticks. We all scooted in closer to the fire to toast marshmallows and continued catching up until Max couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.

I picked him up and went to find Charlie. One look at Max drooling on my shoulder and he turned to say goodnight to Billy, Sue and the others that were sitting nearby. After a quick sweep of the area to say goodbye to as many people as we could, we made our way back to the car.

"Bella, wait up!" I heard Jake call out as his feet pounded behind us. I turned around to face him as Charlie backtracked a few steps to take Max out of my arms so that I could speak to Jake.

"Look," he started, running his hands through his hair, nervous. "I'm really sorry about earlier. You're right. I was out of line."

"Thank you," I told him sincerely. It wasn't often that he apologized for being unwilling to give me space.

"I've missed you, and I'm going to stop bothering you about _things_. Us." He sounded so heartbroken and regretful.

"Can you do that?" I asked, not sure whether or not to believe him. He had made similar promises before, and yet we were still here, having the same conversations.

"I can try," he shrugged, and I nodded before hugging him quickly.

"Thank you." I just had to hope that this time was different and he would keep his promise.


	33. Family Vacation FutureTake Part 1

**So, it's been a while, huh? This outtake is being split into two parts. Hope to have the next posted soon. Oh, and it's unbetaed, so ignore my random use of commas please ;-)**

**This is something that was cut from the original story. It was in my plan before I started writing, but I was able to pull the important parts from that original plan and fit them into other scenes. It just wasn't all that important to the story, but I'm going to be totally self-indulgent and admit that I still wanted to write it. So I tweaked the idea and wrote it as a future-take. And it kinda reads like a trip report, but it's fluffy family vacation fun and I hope you like it!**

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Outtake—Part 1—Family Vacation—EPOV**

"Max, over here," I called and waited for him to jog over.

"Yeah, Dad?"

I crouched down and tried to point out one of his opponents without giving myself away. This kid had been keeping up with Max, step for step, not allowing him to get a direct shot on the goal.

"Okay, number twelve over there?" Max glanced over and nodded, and I tried not to laugh at the way his eyes narrowed when he realized who I was talking about. "Stay to his left, he has trouble keeping up with you when you bear left. If you can catch him off guard, you'll blow right past him."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Yep, you almost lost him a minute ago, but the play stopped. Give it a try, I bet you'll finally shake him."

He took off to rejoin his teammates who were getting back into their places for a throw-in. As soon as they were back in play, I kept pace on the sidelines, shouting instructions and encouragement. I started coaching Max's team that first fall after I moved back, and I loved watching these kids grow into their skills. A couple years later and they were finally paying a little more attention, taking it a little more seriously. I tried my best to keep it fun for them, remembering all the coaches I'd had who'd made it a chore to show up on the field, and I vowed to never let it feel like that. It was amazing to watch a kid's confidence soar after one of my suggestions worked.

Max was a natural, even at such a young age, and it made my chest swell with pride to see the way he didn't let it go to his head the way the other kids looked to him as a leader. Though he was clearly the best player on the team, he never acted like he was better, and he had this innate ability to teach others when they struggled without seeming condescending. I hoped—and would do my best to make sure—that it stayed that way as he got older; an ego wouldn't get him very far.

Watching the field, I momentarily stopped breathing when he finally managed to slip to the left with the ball at his feet and skirt around the opponent that had been glued to his side all day. In seconds, he'd created enough distance to be able to take off into a sprint.

"Go! Go! Go! You got this!" I yelled out, hearing the parents over on the bleachers getting just as excited as I ran parallel to Max.

With a quick deke to the right, the goaltender dove, and even though he could've taken the shot himself, Max passed the ball over to the other side of the goal to one of his teammates, giving him the wide open net and the kid's first goal of the season. Max was the first to dive on him, starting the dogpile. It took a couple minutes to break them up, but soon we had them huddled together.

"Okay, only a few minutes left and we're up by one thanks to Lucas." I looked over to wink at him and saw a few kids patting him on the back. Judging by the grin plastered to his face, I was sure his parents would hear the story over and over for weeks. "All we need to do is keep them from tying it up, so let's focus on defense now."

All hands in and a chant of "one, two, three, go" before breaking, and the kids took their places back out on the field. The minutes flew past, and as soon as the whistle was blown marking the end of the game, the kids fell into one last dogpile before lining up to shake hands with the other team.

As soon as I could, I jogged across the field to the blanket spread out on the grass near the bleachers.

"Drinks are in the cooler, snacks in the bag."

I sat down next to Bella on the blanket and tapped my lips with my index finger. She rolled her eyes and laughed, but I still got what I wanted when she leaned over to kiss me.

"nnnDa!"

Only one sound could convince me to stop kissing Bella. The sight of my little Sophie wobbling back and forth while attempting to stay on her feet by grasping onto Bella's shoulder with one hand instantly warmed my heart, and I didn't care how big of a sap that made me sound.

"Hey, Princess." I reached over to pick her up and let her stand in front of me. She gripped my index and middle fingers of each hand in her little fists; though she was walking somewhat, she craved stability and still wanted something or someone to hold onto.

"nnnDa!" she said again. For some reason, she dragged out an 'n' sound, but I'd never be caught complaining. It was cute, and original, and if I had my way, she'd never say it any other way.

"Can I have kisses?" I asked, and with a grin, she leaned her whole body forward to plant a sloppy kiss on my mouth. Not wanting to disappoint, I emphasized mine with a dramatic, "Mwah!'

She laughed, her little eyes crinkling, then leaned in again. She always wanted to repeat this a dozen or so times before she'd finally quit. From the moment we found out about her, this kid owned me. When it was confirmed that that we were having a girl, my dad laughed at me. A lot. He knew I didn't stand a chance, and enjoyed teasing me about it.

The whole experience had been like nothing I'd ever gone through. It had been exciting and scary as hell, but I loved it—even when things turned stressful. Luckily, Bella'd had no medical problems—everything ran smoothly in that regard—but the mood swings and off the wall requests and demands took some adjustment on my part. I'd heard jokes that there was a gene that made women forget the pain of childbirth so that they didn't stop after one, but I was pretty sure there was one for men that made us forget the days and nights we want to rip our hair out because nothing we did was right.

Though it was far from funny at the time, now when I thought about the three nights I was relegated to a spare room for having the audacity to use the word 'preggo' in front of and about Bella, I could laugh. It took an apology from Alice for not pre-warning me that the word—as well as 'preggers', and any other variation—was completely off limits, and a bribe of ice cream and chocolate covered pretzels for me to earn my spot back in the bedroom.

"Come on, Dad. Team's waiting for you." I looked over to see Max with his arms crossed in annoyance.

I gently nudged Sophie back a couple steps so that I could stand, then I picked her up and propped her on my hip as I reached down to pick up the cooler. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

Bella held the bag with snacks out for Max and instructed, "Here, carry this over."

She relaxed back on the blanket and closed her eyes, and the last thing I wanted to do was walk away. "Staying here?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed as a smug grin appeared. Quiet moments were rare and apparently she planned to take advantage of this one.

Sophie and I followed Max to the center of the field, giving Bella her few minutes of relaxation. After a short talk congratulating the kids and recognizing their group and individual successes, everyone clapped—Sophie refusing to stop until well after everybody else—and dug into their treats.

We cleaned up, and everyone took off toward the parking lot. Max decided to kick the ball around a little more on his own while Sophie and I headed over toward Bella. She hadn't moved.

I lightened my steps as I neared, hoping to sneak up on her. Setting Sophie on the ground and holding onto her until she was stable, I let her go and watched as she toddled over and dove right onto Bella's stomach. Her eyes flew open and a light 'oof' escaped her lips before she started laughing.

"I think she bruised a rib," she said, laughing as she sat up, allowing Sophie to climb all over her lap.

A horn honked and I turned to wave at one of the assistant coaches pulling away before turning back to see Sophie trying her best to investigate Bella's teeth—her newest fascination. Bella would lightly bite at Sophie's fingers, causing her to jerk her hand away before dissolving into giggles and trying again.

"You about ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah, I have a ton of stuff to do at home before we leave tomorrow."

We gathered our things and headed back to the house. Bella shooed the three of us and the dog out into the backyard while she finished cleaning the house top to bottom, doing the last of the laundry, and throwing a few items into suitcases. By the time evening rolled around, the place was spotless and looked more like a model home than a house with two kids and an oversized dog. It was a little scary.

As usual, Sophie was the first to crash, but I'd had Max running around so much in the yard that he wasn't too far behind, just as I'd hoped. We had to be up early in the morning with a long flight ahead of us, so I wanted him to get as much sleep as possible.

After running Jack next door to his temporary home for the week so that we had one less thing to deal with in the morning, I was instantly reminded of the other bonus to having both kids in bed early when I entered the bedroom and heard the shower running in the bathroom. I opened the door slowly, so as not to give myself away, and steam billowed out, clearing the room and allowing me a perfect opportunity to admire Bella's silhouette through the shower curtain. I didn't waste any time tugging my clothes off and kicking them to the side as soon as they hit the floor.

When I slid the curtain back, she turned to look at me—her expression coy as if she had been expecting me, a mischievous grin threatening to take over—then faced forward again. I stepped closer until my body was pressed against hers and wrapped my arms around her waist as I dipped my head to lick at the beads of water at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She hummed quietly, and judging by the taste of her skin, I was too late to help.

"They in bed?" she asked.

"Sound asleep."

"You know, we should probably try to get some sleep, too."

"Mmm, right after I wear you out."

I reached up over her head to push the shower head off to the side to redirect the spray, then slid my hands down her arms until I clasped her hands and lifted them, urging her to lean against the wall. I knew I was ready, and lightly trailed my hand down her stomach, loving the way her body trembled and her breath shook, to make sure she was ready, too.

The sound of her moan reverberating off of the tile as I pushed inside of her almost made me lose it. It was quick, but that was the nature of the beast when it came to sex in the shower; there was a built in time limit imposed by the hot water tank. We managed to finish the shower before the water ran too cold, and I packed up the last of my things as Bella dried her hair.

I fell into bed, exhausted, but excited for the week ahead and was out just moments after I felt the mattress shift with Bella's weight. All too soon, the alarm blared. I wondered briefly how I'd managed to wake up at such an unreasonably early hour for all those years. I'd been spoiled with syndication, having everything pre-recorded the afternoon before, that waking up before the sun was out was unheard of for me these days.

I reached over to turn the damned thing off before settling back into my original position, wrapping an arm around Bella and pulling her closer to me.

"You awake?" I mumbled. It was a stupid question; I could tell by the way she was breathing that she was awake.

"No."

I chuckled and nuzzled my nose into her hair. We stayed like this for a while, neither of us in a hurry to get going. She was the first to move, though not without complaint. I balled up a pillow and shoved it under my head as I watched her get dressed, and all I wanted to do was drag her back to the bed and have my way with her. Opportunities would be limited, possibly nonexistent, for the next week, so I felt like I needed to get as much in as I could.

"Bella?"

"As much as I'd love to, no time for that, get dressed," she answered without even looking at me. Apparently my tone of voice was laced with enough innuendo that I gave my intentions away. Damn.

I huffed and kicked the covers away, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I sat at the edge of the bed. I pushed myself to a standing position and pouted, earning a laugh rather than sympathy.

I walked up behind her and started nibbling at her neck, just under her ear, halting her laughter instantly. One hand slowly balled up the fabric of the light skirt she was wearing until it lifted higher, higher, higher. She put her hand over mine.

"We don't have time," she said, her words holding less conviction than they did a minute ago.

"Are you sure about that?" I worked a fingertip under the elastic of her panties at the top of her thigh, and judging by the shuddering breaths escaping her mouth, she was ready to cave. Until my phone rang.

"Fuck," I mumbled and went off in search of the cockblocking contraption. "What?" I clipped when I answered.

"You guys about ready?" Emmett's voice held a trace of humor, as if he knew what he was interrupting. "We're going to leave here in about ten minutes, so we'll be at your place in about thirty."

"Yeah, it won't take us that long," I answered. We said our goodbyes, and by that time, Bella had disappeared into the bathroom. I pulled my clothes on and made the bed before heading in to brush my teeth, passing Bella on the way. By the time I made it back out, she was nowhere to be seen. I'd only made it a few steps down the hall when I heard her trying to coax Max out of bed so I redirected myself toward Sophie's nursery.

She was sound asleep, her little mouth hanging wide open. I took a moment just to look at her, always in awe, before I lifted her out of the crib. She made a little whine of protest, and I whispered assurances as I walked her over to the changing table.

After ditching the dirty diaper, I dressed her in the little sundress Bella had set out. We almost always had her in dresses, and if we didn't, we had her in pink. The poor thing was born nearly bald, and even now she had barely more than peach fuzz on her head. At the moment, the color was somewhere in between mine and Bella's, though it was so light that it seemed to favor my shade just a tad more. She had Bella's big, brown doe eyes though—yet another reason she had me wrapped around her finger.

I carried her downstairs as soon as I finished, finding Bella and Max in the kitchen. I ruffled Max's hair as he slouched over a bowl of cereal and glared at me. The kid was not a morning person so six was a little rough on him.

"Cheer up," I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster just to annoy him. "Tomorrow morning you'll have a giraffe outside your room."

He still didn't crack a smile.

"I'm going to load the suitcases," I said as I passed Sophie off to Bella before leaning in for a kiss.

She hummed when I pulled away. "Okay, I'm going to make sure all the trash is out and nothing has been left on."

I backed the car out of the garage and into the driveway to give myself more room to maneuver. I'd just loaded the last suitcase when Emmett's SUV pulled into the drive. All four friends spilled out of the car, and I had to laugh at the mountain of luggage obscuring the line of sight out the back window.

"You guys ready?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

The door from the kitchen to the garage opened, so Rosalie and Alice bypassed me to help Bella. And by help Bella, that meant take Sophie and leave Bella to do the actual work. Max walked over and stood in front of me, leaning back to prop himself against my legs. I put my hands on his shoulders, squeezing just enough to tickle and make him cringe.

"Come on," I said, patting him on the back. "Get in the car so we can get out of here."

"We all set?" Bella asked as she walked back up the driveway after taking a bag down for trash pickup.

"Unless you have anything left to do."

"Nope, all done." She grinned and took off to wrestle Sophie from Alice's clutches.

Once we had everyone strapped in, we were off. Max's grumpy mood turned around the moment I started the engine. The whole drive, he carried on a mostly one-sided conversation with Sophie—though she did mumble and gurgle unintelligible words as if attempting to do her part.

"We're going to see Mickey Mouse. You aren't gonna be scared of him, are you?" Max asked her. "He's a lot bigger than he looks on TV."

I looked over to see Bella staring out her window, a peaceful smile on her face as she eavesdropped.

"I'm gonna meet him again so you better not be scared." I heard Bella snort in an attempt to hold back her laughter. "And I think I'm gonna ride Space Mountain this time. You're too little, so you can't go. You can go on Winnie the Pooh, though. You're not too little for that."

By the time Max was finished teaching Sophie what the best snacks were and where they could be found, we'd arrived at the airport. The stroller was the first thing out of the back, though I wasn't sure why I bothered setting it up—I knew Sophie would end up just being passed around from person to person. Just as I'd expected, it immediately turned into a carry-all for bags and purses.

The amount of luggage between the eight of us was staggering. Not only did we have all of our suitcases, but Emmett and Jasper were loaded down with equipment. They were broadcasting live from Walt Disney World for a week, prompting all of us to tag along for a big 'family' vacation. It would be interesting—Bella and Max were the only ones with regular trips behind them. I'd gone once as a kid, as had Rosalie. Alice had been there many years ago when she and Bella were in college and had gone to visit Renee on break, spending just a couple days in the parks. Emmett and Jasper had never been.

By the time we had checked our luggage and made it to the gate, I had done probably a dozen headcounts to make sure we hadn't lost anybody. It didn't bode well for the week ahead, though Bella insisted it was offseason and the parks wouldn't be too crowded. Plus, as long as the kids were accounted for, any lost 'grown-ups' could just deal with it. That was what cell phones were for.

The flight was long, but fortunately it was direct, and just over five hours later we were making our descent into Orlando International Airport. Max had his nose glued to the window, scanning the landscape before for any signs of the parks, certain he'd be able to see something. Sophie had a little trouble with the change in pressure and whined a bit, but spared us the full on screams that a couple other kids were inflicting on the passengers.

As soon as we were off the plane and headed in the right direction, Max grabbed my hand and started pulling.

"Hurry up!" he demanded and I tugged back to slow him down.

"Hang on a second, bud. We have to wait for everyone else."

As soon as the others had caught up, Max led us all to the shuttle then pressed his nose to the glass on the trip over. The airline was quick with baggage and in no time we were hauling our things over to the parking garage to pick up rental cars.

I drove and Bella navigated, the others following behind us the entire way. I could see an arch of some sort crossing over the road we were one off in the distance when Bella turned in her seat and directed Max's attention.

"Look up there," she said, pointing.

He craned his neck, and I took my eyes off the road long enough to look back and see his face morph into pure excitement. "We're here! Sophie, look! We're here!"

She had no clue what she was supposed to be cheering for, but she picked up on Max's cue and started clapping her hands.

It probably launched me into a new level of sap, but crossing the property line into "The Happiest Place on Earth" with my _family_, seeing how happy they were, nothing could compare. In that moment, I finally understood all those cheesy commercials I'd laughed at before. It would've been enough had this been everyone's first trip, but knowing that Bella and Max had long-standing traditions all over this plot of land that they wanted to share made it even better.

I had expected to see parks and rides, but it seemed that Disney kept most of them well hidden. Bella just laughed at me and reminded me that everything was spread over more than forty square miles so I wouldn't see any castles in the near future. She directed me to the hotel, and I annoyed her by questioning her instructions when the number of lanes dropped and all signs of life started to disappear.

For such a big hotel, Animal Kingdom Lodge was pretty well hidden.

We made it past the security booth and pulled up in front of the resort. Employees—'cast members' as Bella kept correcting me—were ready to help us with our luggage before we even had a chance to open the doors. Emmett pulled their van right behind ours and were greeted the same way.

After giving Bell Services our information, I helped Bella with the kids and we all walked inside. The dark woods and dim light was a stark contrast to the bright Florida sunshine and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. The smell of wood, smoke, and spices drew me in closer and I looked around, immediately focusing on the massive window on the opposite side of the lobby. In between there were couches, chairs, televisions, and authentic African crafts and displays.

Max wanted to investigate, pouting when Bella insisted we check in first. Fortunately the line wasn't long, and after directions to our room and wishes to 'have a magical day,' we were off. The hall seemed endless, every time I thought we had come to the end, it was just another little alcove to view the savannah. Of course we had to stop at each one; it didn't matter that we'd have a similar view from our room if we ever made it there.

Finally, _finally_ we made it to the room. The lock had hardly had enough time to deactivate when Max barreled right through and headed straight for the balcony. I was more interested in passing out on the first available bed.

By the time bell services brought our luggage up, I had almost convinced myself that I was doing my part by keeping a sleeping Sophie from rolling off of the bed while Bella dashed from one corner of the room to the other, putting things away and organizing.

I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until a pounding at the door caused me to jerk awake. Bella laughed at what I was sure was my panicked look as she went to let Emmett and the others in.

"Be a little louder next time," I complained.

Emmett laughed. "Jesus, you're worse than the kid when someone interrupts naptime." I flipped him off but he ignored me. "I'm starving, where are we eating?"

Everyone looked to Bella since she had made most of the plans but she only shrugged. "I didn't make any reservations for tonight. I wasn't sure anyone would feel up to going out. You guys want counter service? Table service? What are you hungry for?"

"Food, and lots of it," Emmett answered.

"Hey, Max," she called and he poked his head inside, still camped out on the balcony. "What do you think, Whispering Canyon Café?"

A smile lit up his face and he started laughing as he nodded his head.

"What is this place?" Emmett asked.

Bella shook her head and laughed as she picked up the room phone and pressed a button. "Don't worry, they have an all you can eat option."

"And bottomless milkshakes!" Max yelled in as Bella began speaking to someone on the other end of the line trying to secure a reservation for a party our size.

"Okay, we have to move quick. We lucked out and they have room for all of us but we have to be there in thirty minutes."

After loading in to the cars and trekking to another part of the property, we pulled up in front of another hotel reminiscent of our own. Inside, the lobby was busy with check-in to our right and the restaurant to our left. Bella gave them our name and we were asked to wait and urged to take a look around. Our group split up into a few factions with Max leading some of us to a small water source in the back that started inside the building but ran outside to what I was told was a working geyser. After about ten minutes, we headed back to the restaurant to wait for our table. Rosalie and Alice were already there and Jasper showed up shortly after but by the time they called our name, there was still no sign of Emmett.

Deciding not to let him hold things up, the rest of us followed the hostess. The restaurant was full of activity with a western motif running through it. As we sat, the hostess realized we were one short and asked who got lost from the 'herd' and as soon as she had a name, she walked directly over to the half-wall that overlooked the lobby and cupped her hands around her mouth and called out his name, stretching it for a good ten seconds, then accenting it with an equally drawn out "Come and get it."

From our seat, we could see almost everybody turn to look, and within moments, a sheepish looking Emmett was ducking his head trying to make his way over unnoticed. It didn't work; she heckled him the entire time, and by the time he made it to the table the whole restaurant was giving him a round of applause.

In the few years that I'd known him, I couldn't recall ever seeing him actually embarrassed and it was an opportunity none of us was willing to pass up on. It didn't last long; as soon as he saw something called the "Canyon Skillet" on the menu—the all you can eat option that Bella had mentioned—all was forgotten.

But apparently that was just the start of it.

We laughed as others in the restaurant were drawn into the spotlight. Max nearly hurdled the table when they started stick pony races. And between him and Bella, both Alice and I were set up for our own humiliation.

Since Alice was in the most convenient seat, Bella casually requested that she flag down our waitress.

"Hey, next time she comes by, ask for some ketchup." She was so nonchalant that none of could have guessed she was up to something. Max giggled, but he's been laughing at the antics in this place since we got here that it didn't seem out of place.

When she managed to ask, the waitress—with an extremely loud announcement—ensured that every bottle of ketchup in the place was brought to our table. The shock on Alice's face was priceless as each member of the wait staff as well as a few other patrons brought bottle after bottle and set them in front of her, but it was no comparison for the hysterical laughter coming from Bella and Max.

"You set me up!" she yelled, making Bella laugh harder.

And I should've known something was up when Max kept requesting sips of my drink instead of drinking his milkshake, and by the time I had to request my third refill, it was brought out not in a regular glass but what had to be a gallon jar.

By the time we made it back to our rooms, everybody was ready to crash for the night. Though the time difference was in our favor, the day of travelling had caught up to us and it didn't take long for any of us to fall asleep. The wake-up call came way too early. It was hardly a traditional wake-up call. No alarm clocks, no telephones; no, we had some sort of cow mooing outside of our room long before we needed to be awake.

"What the hell _is_ that?" I mumbled into the pillow.

I felt the bed shake with Bella's laughter, and Max, the kid who any other day would go limp and refuse to wake, was up and at the balcony to see who or what had come to visit.

I tried to convince Bella to stay in bed with me, but failed. Not like I could've fully enjoyed it anyway; I was starting to think we needed to consider two rooms in the future. I didn't know where her burst of energy came from, but in no time she was dressed and ready to head out the door, leaving me in charge of getting the kids ready while she ran to pick up breakfast.

I might've continued to lay there for a while before I actually did anything, though. That could explain why I'd only managed a diaper change in the entire time she was gone. Lucky for me, she was always pretty easygoing and this time was no exception. She shook her head and laughed as she set the tray of food on the table then relieved me of my duties so I could get ready.

"Go," she said, pushing me toward the shower. "I've got this."

I never understood how she worked so fast, but by the time I was out of the bathroom, both kids were dressed and eating.

"So what's the plan for today?" I asked while trying to find shoes.

"I talked to Alice while I was out and she and Rosalie are going to meet us when we're ready and we'll head over to the Magic Kingdom. Emmett and Jasper already left for The Studios a while ago and they'll call when they're finished with the morning show so we can meet up."

Max was impatient; apparently it was very important to get to the park before it opened. He practically inhaled his food then pouted when Bella and I didn't do the same, instead taking a little time to talk while Sophie mooched bites. She was a sticky mess by the time we were done and Max grumbled at having to wait another minute and a half while we wiped her off.

"Come on, Stinkerbell," Bella said as she hefted Sophie from my lap to put her into the stroller .

We met up with Alice and Rosalie at the bus stop outside the hotel and were herded aboard with the other sleepy tourists and over-excited kids. Bella insisted this was nothing, that the crowds were low since schools were still in session.

After bumping along for about fifteen minutes, we pulled up at a bus stop near the park and unloaded. We somehow managed to stay together in the crowd piling up just past the turnstyles. They weren't allowing people to go any farther, and eventually a train pulled up to the station with some random family and a bunch of characters. Sophie's excitement as Max pointed them all out to her as the characters sang some corny welcome song boded well for the trip. At least from this distance, they didn't seem to scare her.

Finally, the rush to enter the park from under the train station urged us on and before we knew it, we were on Main Street U.S.A. People were speedwalking, a few flat out running, and I felt like we should be keeping up with them. Bella must have sensed it and put her hand on my arm. "We're only going to have five or ten minute waits for most of these rides all week. No need to rush. Enjoy it."

Her smile was carefree and peaceful, happy, and I couldn't help but lean down for a quick kiss.

With that, the urge to race the other guests left and I took a moment to look around. Everything was vaguely as I'd remembered it from my childhood. Obviously, there were a number of changes, but nothing dramatic. Straight ahead of us was the castle, drawing us closer.

Instead of heading to one of the lands to start tackling rides, Bella and Max introduced us to one of their traditions. Photographers were standing around, taking pictures of families. We stopped at the hub in front of the castle and spent a good five minutes taking various pictures. I'd instantly recognized the scene—Bella and Max had a number of pictures covering each of their trips in front of the Walt and Mickey 'Partners' statue. This time, it was a full family portrait as well as a few with Alice and Rosalie and then way too many of the kids. The photographer handed Bella a small plastic card that resembled a credit card, and as we walked away she explained that we could give it to any photographer on property to store all of our pictures.

"Okay, _now_ can we ride?" Max asked with a slight whine.

Bella laughed and nodded. "Lead the way."

He directed us to Adventureland, bypassing the Flying Carpets, Jungle Cruise, and Tiki Room. No big surprise, Pirates of the Caribbean was our first stop.

Just as Bella had promised, the line was pretty much nonexistent and most of the posted wait time—a whopping five minutes—was simply the walk through the queue. We loaded into the boats with Max, Alice, and Rosalie taking the front row and Bella, Sophie, and I sitting behind them.

We were turning the curve in the first scene when the sound of rushing water and screams caught our attention. Well, Rosalie's. Who knew, as tough as she was, that she'd be a huge chicken when it came to theme park rides.

"Why are they screaming? What's going to happen?" Her voice was panicked, and Bella and I stifled our laughs.

"We're gonna go down the hill!" Max accented his words with a hand motion that mimicked a steep drop.

Rosalie reached forward to grip the metal bar in front of her, white-knuckling in preparation. "Why didn't someone tell me? And why aren't there seat belts on this boat?"

Bella snorted and buried her face into my shoulder when Rosalie turned to shoot her a death glare. The complete dark in this part hid the contraption that would send the boat downhill, the only signal was the somewhat violent—if you listened to Rosalie—jerking.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

"Rosalie!" Alice whisper-yelled in warning. "There are kids here."

Bella burst into hysterical laughter which triggered my own, and when that small drop ended, I turned to the folks behind us.

"Sorry about that," I said, hoping it would be enough to cover our disturbance.

With the drop behind her, Rosalie griped some more. "Are you kidding me? You guys let me get worked up over _that_? The steps to my apartment are steeper than that!"

It seemed that the families in the rows behind us were just as entertained. The middle-aged man directly behind me roared with laughter. "Are you kidding? We've been on this at least a hundred times over the years. This might be the most entertaining ride yet!"

The rest of the ride passed quickly. Max laughed at the drunk pirates, the girls were fascinated by Jack Sparrow, and Sophie squealed and pointed to all of the animals. After a quick breeze-through of the shop at the exit, Max and Bella led us around the curve to Frontierland.

"There ya go, Rose. How about that drop?" Bella teased as she pointed to Splash Mountain just as a boat appeared at the top of the hill.

Rosalie didn't say anything until it landed at the bottom. "I think I'll pass this time. You guys have at it, I'll take the munchkin."

And that was exactly what we did. It was kind of convenient having someone in the group who was too afraid to ride the things we couldn't take Sophie on.

At some point while we were conquering Splash and Big Thunder Mountains, Sophie crashed and didn't wake up until Fantasyland. I was ready to rip my hair out over that damn song on it's a small world, but Sophie's excitement almost made up for it. Almost. Max and I spent the whole ride sharing defeated looks, wishing for it to end.

Somewhere around Dumbo, the call came that Emmett and Jasper were almost done with their show and the decision was made for us to head over to them since we had dinner reservations in that park later in the evening. By the time we made it past the turnstyles, we received another call to say they were finished and to meet them outside the studio. Fortunately, Bella knew exactly where that was and led us straight there. It was strange; the studio was right there in the middle of the park but none of the tourists seemed to realize it. Hell, I probably would've missed it if we hadn't been looking for it. It was tucked away behind some Drew Carey attraction, right across from Indiana Jones. Hiding in plain sight.

Jasper and Emmett stepped out as we neared the door with Fastpasses in their hands.

"No lines for us," Emmett crowed. "We're like Disney royalty today!"

"Cool!" Max yelled as he ran over and used all of his weight to force Emmett's hand down so he could see what all passes he had in hand. His eyes widened and he looked back at Bella. "Toy Story! Can we go on Toy Story first?"

"Lead the way," she said, laughing, as she motioned him ahead with her hand. Clearly it was the wrong thing to say because he took off in a run forcing her to call out, "Walk! …And wait for us."

He turned around and pouted, probably because none of us had moved yet.

Bella opted out of the ride—well, Sophie and her dirty diaper made that decision—so Max and I shared a car when we made it to the front of the Fastpass line. I started out pretty confident. We each had a little gun with a string, and the ride took us through various rooms, each with a different carnival game. It didn't seem too difficult, after all, Max had the Wii version of this so I wasn't a total novice. But I quickly learned that my aim was shit, and I was tugging that string so fast in order to get more shots off that my right arm was aching by the third room.

I still ended up with a higher score than Max, but barely, and once I saw the high scores of the day I vowed to keep my final tally to myself. As everyone unloaded and I got a look at Jasper and Emmett, their faces showed they fared as well as I did. Our expressions were enough to say that none of us wanted to talk about our failure.

Apparently we all carried those looks with us outside where Bella was waiting for us. Rather than ask how it was, she laughed and said, "That bad, huh?"

Max tugged at her arm, urging her to bend down so he could whisper into her ear. "You sure?" she asked him and he nodded. "Okay, well let's go see if you're tall enough!"

"What was that about?" I asked quietly.

"He wants to try Rock 'N Rollercoaster."

I nodded. He'd talked about it nonstop for a while, but I knew he was intimidated. He hadn't been tall enough to ride on previous trips, but he'd hit a pretty good growth spurt over the last few months and we knew he had to be close to the height limit.

Once again, Rosalie bailed out and ended up taking Sophie to see Beauty and the Beast while we did the thrill rides. Max grinned with pride when it was confirmed that he was tall enough to ride. Once again, we bypassed the main line and cut to the front with the Fastpass line. After a short pre-show with Aerosmith, the doors opened to let us into the loading area. It was themed like an old back alley, and as we walked out, one of the 'limos' moved forward to get into position. Bella had her hands on Max's shoulders pushing him forward though he tried to stop and observe what was going on.

"Keep moving, don't let him watch," she said quietly, and we all formed a barrier around him to block his view. Just as we turned the corner, we heard the sound of screeching tires and Max's eyes widened.

"Will he be okay?" I asked her, whispering.

She nodded. "Yeah, he'll be fine once he's on. He probably would've psyched himself out if he had seen that and had time to think about it."

He wanted to sit next to me when we were finally loaded, and the way he was white-knuckling the little handles on his harness, I started to second-guess letting him on here. We were strapped in and had moved up to the take-off area so it was too late to do anything about it now.

"Just hang on tight, bud," I said for lack of anything else to comfort him.

He nodded and Steven Tyler screeched a countdown, sending us shooting through a flashing tunnel. Aerosmith music blared in our ears as we looped upside down, went into corkscrews, and sped through the dark. Fast than expected, we were stopping at the exit.

When I turned to check on Max, he was breathless but smiling and wide-eyed. Before I could climb out, he reached for my hand. "Feel my heart!"

I laughed out loud, his heart was pounding a mile a minute and for some reason he was proud. As soon as he was back on the ground, he ran for Bella and had her hand pressed to his chest before she was even out of her seat. She laughed and put her arms around him as they headed toward the shop. "See? Not so bad, huh?"

"Can we go again?"

"Maybe later. Don't you want to try Tower of Terror now?"

We all stopped and waited for our pictures to come up on the screens, then roared as each one popped up. I had my eyes closed. Max looked like he was going to pee his pants. Bella's eyes were closed, squinting, next to an Emmett whose grin had morphed into some odd expressed that made him look like a melted wax figure due to the speed of take-off. Jasper had no expression which only made him look pissed off, and Alice's short hair was slicked back her eyes were bugging out of her head.

I was exhausted by the end of the night when we were herded back onto buses after Fantasmic. There wasn't a spare inch to move. We'd managed to snag two seats so that Bella could hold a sleeping Sophie and Max could sit next to her. He leaned against her, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Here, I'll take this," Alice said as she pulled the folded up stroller from my hands then nodded toward Max. "I don't think he's going to be able to walk."

I chuckled at the sight of his eyelids fluttering with his fight to stay awake. He didn't bother to put up a fight when I picked him up, allowing his head to fall onto my shoulder. I was pretty sure by the deep breaths that he was asleep before we made it inside the hotel.

Alice followed us to the room, tucking the stroller into a corner so that we wouldn't trip over it, then whispered a goodnight before slipping out the door. Bella and I worked together to get the kids out of their dirty clothes. With Max under the covers in his bed, and Sophie in her hotel provided Pack N Play, I took the opportunity to follow Bella into the shower.

We took turns under the spray and indulged in a little routine groping.

"How much longer til your mom and Phil get here?" I asked. Okay, maybe I whined. The shower, though our only option for privacy, was a little cramped for what I had in mind. We probably could've made due, but we were both beat from being on our feet for the better part of twelve hours and the bed would've been a whole lot nicer. Renee had already demanded they'd keep the kids in their room for a night or two and I wasn't about to argue.

"Two more days," she replied with a sigh.

"Two days," I said, trying to convince myself I could hold out that long.

I stretched out in bed while Bella dried her hair. This certainly wasn't our first vacation, but it seemed like it could easily turn out to be one of our best. As I looked around at the room, at Max and Sophie, and listened as Bella moved around in the bathroom, I was already planning return trips.

Bella turned the lights off on her way to bed and slid under the sheets. I pulled her closer to me and covered her lips with mine. Her tongue teased my bottom lip, but before things could escalate, Max started mumbling in his sleep, effectively killing the mood.

I dropped my head to her shoulder and groaned. "Two days."

"Two days," she repeated, then with a chuckled she turned onto her side facing away from me.

I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her back. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep. Max will be up with the sun ready for more, so you better be prepared for another day like today."

"I'm getting too old for this," I sighed then kissed her shoulder just before we both drifted off to sleep.

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**A/N: Anyone who knows me shouldn't be surprised that I send them to Disney. This ran so much longer than I had planned, but believe it or not, I actually held back. I had my own WDW trip back in September and couldn't help but 'see' these characters everywhere I went. I think I could've written a full trip report for them, LOL!**

**Oh, and there really is a functional radio station right there in the middle of Disney's Hollywood Studios. If you're on that path to the restroom across from the Indiana Jones truck, you can see the door and windows just behind Drew Carey's Sounds Dangerous.**

**Next half, these guys will teach you all how to max out on Buzz Lightyear ;-)**


	34. Happiest Place on Earth:FutureTake Part2

**So glad you guys seemed to enjoy the first part! Haven't had much of a chance to respond to reviews, so I still owe a bunch of you responses, but I figured you wouldn't mind waiting since I was writing this second half. **

**There will be one more outtake—another future-take that'll make an even bigger leap in time—for the Fandom Gives Back winner. Have that one almost totally planned out and ready to write, so hopefully that'll be up soonish.**

**Oh, and I posted a one-shot a couple weeks ago based on the matchbox twenty song "Back 2 Good." It's angsty, smutty, and totally different from anything I've written, but if you have a few minutes, give it a shot!  
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**Again, this is unbeta'ed so I'm sure there are mistakes I've missed... hopefully nothing too big. Thanks again for revisiting these characters with me!**

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Outtake Part 2—Happiest Place on Earth—BPOV**

"You've got to be friggin' kidding me."

I laughed into my pillow as Edward grumbled and groaned before flipping the covers off and trudging to the balcony. The same mooing sound from the morning before greeted us once again well before the alarm. I supposed I could've been nice and warned him before we got here, having experienced the same thing the couple other times Max and I had stayed at this hotel, but this was more fun.

"What the hell is that thing?" he asked moments after opening the curtains.

I laughed and rolled over to face him, squinting against the bright sunlight. "Ankole cow. Also called a Watusi. I don't know, it's in that little field guide over on the table."

He closed the curtains and walked back to the bed. "We have a whole family of them right outside. Can't they, like, train them to be quiet til later or something?"

"Sure, drop it in the suggestion box."

I squirmed when he pinched my side. "Smartass."

"But you love me anyway," I teased.

"The only reason I put up with that mouth."

"Not the only reason," I said, letting my voice drop before nuzzling into his neck and biting at the skin before lightly running my tongue over to soothe. I grinned in victory when he groaned, then laughed when Max started to stir.

"Tomorrow night." He sighed the words like a mantra, a reminder that we'd soon have alone time.

We managed to get ready quicker than yesterday. The miles and miles walked the day before must've been too much because both Alice and Rosalie passed on the opportunity to be in the parks early. Since Jasper and Emmett were once again broadcasting from the Studios, that left the four of us to make the short trek over to Animal Kingdom.

We opted to drive rather than maneuver the buses this time and pulled into the parking lot minutes later. I searched for the digital and video cameras while Edward set the stroller up, knowing we'd need them soon.

"Got everything?" I asked, and Edward nodded before ducking his head back into the SUV to double-check.

"I think so. If not, oh well."

"Hurry up," Max interrupted, bouncing up and down and trying to see… anything. Not that there was much to see from the parking lot, but heaven forbid he miss something.

"Max, the park doesn't even open for another twenty minutes. You can wait another thirty seconds," I said.

"I know, but I wanna see who's out front!"

"Who's out front?" Edward asked.

"They almost always have characters outside for meet and greets at this park. You don't even have to go inside."

And sure enough, a half a dozen lines had formed so that kids—and many adults—could have their pictures taken and get their autograph books signed. We had somehow managed to go the whole day yesterday without meeting a single character. It wasn't exactly unusual these days—most characters were off in special meet and greet areas rather than wandering the parks like they used to. Now, tourists had to make an active effort to seek them out in precisely scheduled windows of opportunity.

We found the shortest line, and as a bonus it was a two-fer, with both Chip and Dale posing together. Max ran up first, autograph book and pen in hand. I went into 'mom-mode' and started snapping pictures. From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward getting Sophie out of her stroller so I switched to the video camera, not wanting to miss her first character interaction.

Chip and Dale took turns badgering Max. One would ruffle his hair and as soon as he turned around, the other would tap his shoulder. Back and forth they went, all the while, Edward was easing his way closer, letting Sophie get used to them gradually.

Chip was the first to notice her, and slowly made his way over, obviously gauging whether or not she was afraid. When she reached forward, forcing Edward to hold tighter so that she didn't fall right out of his arms, that was the all-clear for Chip to fully acknowledge her. At first it was a wave, followed by a tap on the nose. When she brought her hands up to her face and giggled, he responded by tickling her. She shrieked with laughter and Chip covered his face with his hands, mimicking his own laugh.

Max, the proud big brother that he was, took over introductions. "This is Sophie. She's my sister. She's never been to Disney World before so I have to show her all the cool stuff."

Both characters high-fived him, and we managed to wrangle all four of them into position for a group photo. I scooped Sophie up into my arms and covered her face with kisses. "Look at you! My brave little girl. Who did you see?"

She flashed her little baby teeth, smiling so widely that her eyes crinkled. As soon as we found the next character—Pluto—she squirmed for me to set her onto the ground and toddled as fast as her little legs would go until she was wrapped around his legs.

We stayed outside for a bit, not feeling the need to run with the masses as they entered the park and raced to Expedition Everest. We took our time even once inside, stopping to see the various birds and animals displayed along the path.

After obligatory pictures in front of the Tree of Life, we wound our way back to Kilimanjaro Safari. For a while, Sophie was more interested in the people behind us than the animals outside of our truck.

"Here, you take her," I said, passing her off to Edward who was laughing at my failed attempts to divert her attention.

"What's the matter, she ruining all of your fun?" he said to her as he shifted her so that she could see.

I slapped at his shoulder with the back of my hand, and gave an offended, "Hey."

He winked, then turned his attention back to Sophie and the animals we were passing. I grabbed the bag at my feet and dug through until I found a camera and handed it to Max who sat on my other side.

"Here, you want to take some pictures?"

His eyes widened and he nodded.

"Forgot all about it, didn't you?" I said, grinning as I looped the strap around his wrist so that he wouldn't lose it if he dropped it. I sure as hell didn't trust him with mine, but Esme and Carlisle had sent him this one designed specifically for kids.

And just like that, I was forgotten as he snapped shot after shot.

We were held up somewhere in the middle of the savannah while a grouping of giraffes blocked the road. The mother stood in front of us, while two smaller ones meandered next to the truck on Edward's side. Max immediately climbed onto my lap for a closer look, and Sophie squealed and waved. I laughed when she turned to look at Edward, and upon noticing that he was looking at her and not her new friends, put one hand on his cheek to turn his face toward the baby giraffes. It was one of those moments I wanted to keep forever engrained in my memory, and I couldn't deny that it did crazy things to me to see him with her, that mutual adoration they had for each other.

We unloaded from the truck after saving Little Red from poachers, and headed off toward Everest. Max was the first to notice, tugging at my arm as I pushed an empty stroller.

"Mom! Mom, look!" He pointed to the trees just off the path and it took a moment for me to find her.

"Why are we stopping?" Edward asked as Sophie bounced in his arms, entertaining herself.

I pointed to the figure emerging from the trees. "DiVine."

"Huh?"

I laughed. And pointed again at the woman painted and covered in vines, slowly maneuvering on stilts and blending in with the plant life. A small crowd started to form as they watched her, and I heard behind me a man ask, "What's everyone looking at?"

"I don't know," Edward answered. "There's a woman dressed like weeds or something."

I snorted and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Any other oddities I should be on the lookout for while we're here?" he asked once we were moving again.

Max piped up. "There's a talking tree and garbage can!"

"Really?" Edward asked, his brow quirked and his expression more amused than interested.

"Yep," I said. "Wes Palm and Pipa, although she's actually a recycling can. And over at the Magic Kingdom is Push, the talking trash can."

"This place is unreal," he said, shaking his head and laughing.

Max grew more and more nervous as the replica of Mount Everest continued to loom ahead.

"You gonna be okay?" I asked. "You don't have to ride it. We can try another time."

"No, I wanna ride. Is it really scary?"

He hadn't been tall enough before, but I'd ridden it with Phil a number of times when he and Renee had joined us. I knew the idea of the coaster itself and the yeti at the end were probably scarier for him than the actual experience would be.

The stand-by line was only fifteen minutes, so there wasn't much time for him to overthink things. I crouched down to his level. "You did great yesterday. Remember how dark it was in Rock N Rollercoaster?" He nodded. "It gets dark in this one for a little bit, and you go backwards at one point, but isn't anything you can't handle."

"What about the yeti?"

"Not til the very end, and though it looks like he's going to get close, he won't." I paused to let him think, watching as he turned around to assess the mountain behind him. "We can try another day," I reminded.

After a moment to steel his resolve he turned to me. "No, I want to ride it now."

"You sure?"

"Uh huh."

I stood up, still watching him. "Who do you want to ride with? Only one of us can go with you since we can't take Sophie on."

He regarded both me and Edward for a few seconds before walking over and taking Edward's free hand. After whispering instructions on where they each should sit so that the yeti would be on Edward's side, I took Sophie from him, and maneuvered the stroller to a low wall to sit and wait.

She was completely sacked out by the time they made it back. Max talked a mile a minute, detailing everything he could remember about the ride, and soon as we started moving again and he was out of earshot, I leaned in and whispered to Edward, "So, how was he _really_?"

"Terrified. He didn't let go of my arm the whole time, pretty sure his eyes were closed for most of it, and the picture"—he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a shot he had taken of the preview screen at the ride exit—"was absolutely hilarious."

I probably should've been more concerned at the sheer terror on my son's face, but knowing that he was perfectly fine made it okay in my head to laugh.

We managed to fit in a couple shows before Emmett and Jasper had finished their broadcast, and since Alice and Rosalie still hadn't left the room, we decided to meet up at the hotel before heading back to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon.

As usual, Max led the pack to Adventureland to start, although we did manage to talk him into stopping at other attractions before revisiting Pirates. The Jungle Cruise had a short five minute wait, and I figured the corny jokes and bad puns would be right up the guys' alley.

We were the last group loaded into the boat and took seats in the back. Our skipper introduced himself as we set off, instructing, "Wave at all the people on the dock 'cause you may never see 'em again. Of course, you've never seen 'em before, so you aren't gonna miss anything."

It earned light laughter. Alice knew what to expect—we'd spent weeks after that spring break trip in college quoting some of the bad jokes—but the others were clueless.

With each joke, laughs got a little louder. As we came upon a snake dangling from a tree, the skipper asked, "Does anyone know what kind of snake this is? It starts with a 'p'…"

A number of people called out 'python' and he shook his head. "No, not python." He paused for more guesses before deadpanning, "Plastic. It's a plastic snake, folks."

The dam finally broke and Emmett laughed hysterically, earning looks from the rest of the passengers. His laughs grew more and more theatric as we passed the campsite and safari, the skipper clearly please to have someone playing along since it inspired others on the boat to laugh and jump in as well.

As we approached the waterfall, the skipper motioned to the wreckage of a small plane off to one side. "Oh no! A plane crash in the jungle can only mean one thing... hippos."

Emmett snorted, and by this point it was hard to say whether people were laughing at the jokes or him, though I was inclined to believe it was him.

"Watch out for the hippos! They're wiggling their ears. That means... you guessed it, they're hungry, hungry hippos. But don't worry, I have a bag of marbles in my pocket."

Emmett slapped his knees, "That's it. I'm quitting my job and moving down here. This is my calling, I know it is."

We approached the native village and I motioned for everyone to shush. I pointed to the characters coming up on the left side of the boat, just behind where Emmett and Rosalie were sitting. "Listen, this one says 'I love disco.'"

We all ignored the skipper's spiel for a moment, and as soon as the native declared his adoration, we all burst into laughter. Again, all attention was directed at us and the scene we were causing.

We quieted down just in time to enter the temple and as daylight began to make its way in, the skipper warned, "I have no idea what danger is up ahead, but knowing Disney, it's probably a store."

Soon, we neared the end of the ride, and the skipper earned one last guffaw from Emmett as we stepped off of the boat by announcing, "Welcome back to the biggest man trap built by a mouse!"

"Oh, Jesus that was good," Emmett said, almost sighing the words. "So bad. But so good."

"Where to now?" Jasper asked, looking around.

"Pirates!" Max yelled then led the charge.

After yet another trip through the Caribbean, we backtracked then headed over to Tomorrowland. With Max on his rollercoaster high, he wanted to give Space Mountain a go. Once again, Rosalie took Sophie so that the rest of us could ride.

"How was it?" she asked when we met up afterwards.

"Clearly designed by a man," Alice complained. "There's no way that anyone concerned with keeping 'the girls' in a bra would've built something to bumpy."

After laughing as Alice once again adjusted herself, we headed over to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. It was another must-do for Max, and I had no idea how we managed to get out of this park the day before without at least one ride.

Seeing that it was another arcade style attraction like the Studios' Toy Story Midway Mania, the guys decided to turn it into a competition.

"Losers buy the winner's drinks when we go drinking around the world," Emmett challenged. Knowing how quickly the cost of drinks added up at Epcot, especially when ordering one in each country as they planned to do while Renee and Phil had the kids, I knew this wasn't a cheap bet.

Jasper was the first to pipe up, voice full of confidence. "I'm in."

"You're on." Of course Edward wouldn't back down.

Taking things way too seriously, Emmett turned to Rosalie and said, "Don't think you're sharing my car. I need room to maneuver if I'm going to win this."

"Hey, Bella's the only one that's been on this ride. She shouldn't be allowed to sit with Edward," Jasper said.

I should've been insulted by the look Emmett gave him that said Jasper's concern was ridiculous. "Yeah, but it's _Bella_. She sucks at this stuff. What good will she be?"

"Oh yeah," Jasper said, then turned to Edward "Okay, go ahead and sit with her if you want."

"Hey!" I called out, offended at how flippantly they'd waved off my skill.

Jasper grinned in an effort to pacify, but his voice was dripping with condescension. "Sorry, hon, but we've seen you and video games. You're not a threat."

"That's what you think," I mumbled, too quiet for him to hear and looked at Edward. "We've got this."

"So, you can handle this?" he whispered.

I knew my expression showed just how insulted I was at his lack confidence in me. "Seriously? Have a little faith. You just need to know the secrets." He quirked and eyebrow at me and I put a finger to my lips. "Shh, we need to be in the last car so they don't see what we're doing."

He followed my lead and we casually allowed the others to load onto the ride before us. Emmett and Jasper each took a car to themselves while Alice and Rosalie split up the kids, leaving me and Edward to share.

"Okay, let me handle directing the car. I'll point you in the right direction and tell you where to aim."

Edward started playing with the gun attached to the ride vehicle, getting a feel for it. "Okay, I hope you know what you're doing. Those guys can each handle a lot of alcohol and this could get expensive if we lose."

The first room simply reset the guns and scores to prepare for the start of the 'game' and as we swung around, I began instructing him. "When we get in here, there's a robot on the left. Aim for the target on the inside of his left hand." I pointed at my own hand to show him exactly where he would find it. "It's a high point target, worth 100,000 points."

"Robot's hand. Got it." If I hadn't been so serious myself at the moment, I would've laughed at his absolute concentration.

Moments later, we were inside and had a clear shot for the target—an instant 100,000 points showed up in our scores and I continued to coach him. "Keep going! Don't take your finger off the trigger. It'll keep firing. Don't lose the target."

We both followed the hand as it moved up and down, and as soon as it was out of range, I looked down to see that I had 700,000 points and Edward trailed behind with 600,000. Definitely a good start, and if we could keep that up, we'd have no trouble winning this.

"How do you think they did?" Edward asked.

"Not as good as us. They were both focused on the targets on the right where there are more but they're all low points." He grinned, a little smug, but it was still too early to get complacent. "Okay, next room, as soon as we get past this wall, aim for the target on top of the volcano."

We both shot at random targets to bump out scores until I could maneuver our car for the best position. As we passed the wall, points starting racking up quickly—at 50,000 points per hit, each of our numbers increased rapidly. We slowed down as soon as we lost direct sight of the target, but I knew that as soon as we passed this small section, the volcano would be visible once more.

"Get ready," I said, and just a few hits later, I maxed out. I let go of my gun and focused on keeping our car angled so that Edward could take aim at that target until the last second, and by the time we left the room, both of us were looking at scores of 999,999.

"Hey," Edward called down. "How are things going down there?"

Both Emmett and Jasper glanced up, and their faces fell as the way Edward casually leaned back with his hands behind his head.

"What the ffff-heck!" Emmett said.

Edward smirked. "Maxed out."

"Are you serious? There's no way both of you maxed out in the second room!" Jasper spluttered.

I crossed my arms defiantly. "Never underestimate me again."

Both Alice and Rosalie roared with laughter, and when we finally made it to the end, Jasper and Emmett waited for our car so that they could verify our scores.

"There's no way," Jasper said. "You cheated. You have to have cheated."

"No," I said, drawing out the word. "You just didn't give me any credit."

We toured the park for the next few hours until it was time for dinner in the castle at Cinderella's Royal Table. I checked us in at the podium just inside the castle entrance, and then joined the group to wait until we were called. It was a bit of a pain, they took a number of families in at one time to meet Cinderella before being called for their tables.

Dinner at this restaurant included a photo package, but since our group was so large, we were given two. It was lucky that we were the last in line since it took some time to wrangle everybody together for a group photo with the second shot of just Max and Sophie.

They were down to just a few more families, so when pictures were over, I moved over to a bench and started searching through bags for the things we'd need during the meal—camera, bib, etc—so that I could quickly stuff the rest under the table once we were upstairs.

Alice caught me by surprise when she sat down next to me.

"Do you believe this?" she asked, disgusted.

"Believe what?" I asked, looking around until I followed her gaze. With no more families in line, Cinderella had wandered over to where the guys, kids, and Rosalie had been standing. I watched as she batted her lashes, giggled, and smiled, and I tried to convince myself that she was simply in character, but the longer I watched, the more obvious it was that she was flirting.

The look of revulsion on Rosalie's face would've been amusing, and would've scared the crap out of anyone, but Cinderella was oblivious—in fact, I was willing to bet she didn't even realize Rosalie was there. Hell, she didn't even seem to notice that Max was right there at her feet, or that Sophie was in Edward's arms.

It was totally unreal, and I had this moment where I didn't know what the hell to do. The guys even seemed unsure and appalled.

"Cindy better watch it, or I'm gonna bibbidi, bobbidi, bitchslap her ass."

The unladylike snort and hysterics that directly followed Alice's threat probably should've embarrassed me, but it was too funny for me to care. Plus it seemed to kill the moment, and give the guys the out they needed to walk away. I lost it even more when I heard Rosalie say, "Hey, princess. Just because Prince Charming isn't doing it for you anymore doesn't mean every guy that strolls through your castle is fair game."

Through the tears in my eyes, Cinderella at least had the decency to look ashamed, and appeared more than a little relieved when we were called to head up the winding stairs to the dining room. We were led to the table and our waiter greeted us almost immediately, leaving minutes later only to return with drinks, swords, and wands for everybody.

The food itself was mediocre, but it was the experience that we paid for. The tentative stares that both Alice and Rosalie sent each princess that visited our table until they were deemed trustworthy was worth every penny.

We left the restaurant just in time to find a spot on Main Street USA for Wishes, the firework show. We weren't sure how Sophie would do with the loud noises, so I had held her just in case I needed to make a quick escape into a store. She flinched with the big booms, but was too fascinated by the colors to be scared. Max stood in front of Edward, leaning back against him for support, and when I looked over, the other two couples seemed to be having their own private moments. I was having another one of my sentimental moments, so happy with finally being able to share this—the traditions Max and I had started years ago—with the people closest to me.

Sensing my distraction, Edward looked over at me with a smile. I stepped closer, resting my head on his shoulder as I turned my attention back to the show. He moved to put an arm around me and pull me in even tighter. Between the moment, the soundtrack echoing through the park, and the memories we were making, I started to tear up a little.

I tried to wipe my face clear of the evidence when it was over, but I wasn't quick enough. Edward's thumb feathered under my eye, but it was Rosalie who spoke. "You're such a sap," she teased and I laughed.

The trip back to the hotel was long, and we fell into bed in exhausted heaps. Our bovine buddy mooed us awake once again, and I reveled in the ability to relax since I didn't have any plans other than to wait for Renee and Phil. Edward had promised to take Max to one of the water parks, but they'd agreed to wait for Emmett and Jasper to make it a 'guy's day'—something Max was ecstatic about and very much looking forward to.

We stayed curled up in bed as long as we could, but when stomachs started growling, Edward ran down to grab breakfast.

After two heavy park days, it was nice to take it easy. Before long, Max and Edward were headed out the door while Sophie and I headed down to the hotel pool to meet up with Alice and Rosalie where things would be much quieter than over at Blizzard Beach.

We traded Sophie off, letting her glide through the water and splash around while the three of us caught up on girl talk. When the sun began to feel a little too warm for too long, we headed back inside. Curiosity got the best of us, and knowing that Edward had taken the Photopass card with him, I connected the laptop to the Internet to take a peek at our account. As soon as the day's shots were onscreen I was thankful that I'd already registered all of our cards. It felt a little voyeuristic, but none of us were at all ashamed.

"Ho-ly," Alice started, separating the word into two distinctive sounds.

And Rosalie finished, "shit."

There on the screen was image after image of all the guys in their bare-chested, muscled, and tanned glory.

"I definitely need copies of those," Rosalie said.

I think I responded with an 'uh huh' but I couldn't be sure.

"nnnDa!" Sophie yelled, pointing at the screen.

"Sure is," I mumbled.

Alice snorted. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if you aren't the youngest for much longer, kid."

"Alice!" I hissed, and could feel the blush rising on my cheeks.

We drooled over the pictures for a little while longer before the girls headed back to their rooms to shower off the chlorine. A knock sounded on the door after my own shower, and Renee barged in with her arms wide open as soon as I answered.

"There's my baby girl," she said, swaying back and forth as she embraced me. "I've missed you so much. Where's my little Max and Sophie?"

I wasn't sure she'd taken a breath, but motioned to where Sophie was sleeping. "Max is still at the water park with the guys and Sophie's sleeping."

She immediately made her way to Sophie's side and picked her up. She'd probably be a bear to deal with later, but then I remembered she was Renee's responsibility tonight and didn't care so much.

"Hey, Phil," I greeted. He was still standing in the door, shaking his head in amusement at my mother before giving me a quick hug. "How was the drive?"

"Never-ending. She wouldn't shut up about all her plans to spoil the kids the whole way down. We might have to mortgage the house by the time she buys them everything in sight."

We caught up while waiting for Edward and Max to return, and when they finally did, they weren't empty handed. Edward's arms were loaded down with snacks from Mara—the quick service restaurant in the hotel—and my eyes widened when I spotted the plastic container on top.

"Is this right?" he asked, unsure of himself.

"How did you know?" I asked. I couldn't remember if I had mentioned them, and I hadn't had a chance to pick some up for myself yet.

"It wasn't easy," he said, chuckling. "I asked Max what we should get and he told me you liked zebra. Thought for sure he was screwing with me, but he was adamant. I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. I even looked at the regular menu to see if there was zebra on there. Nope, it was these damn things. What the hell are they?"

I snapped the container open and moaned with the first bite. "Here, taste. It's chocolate, and mousse, and espresso, and Kahlua, and all kinds of yum."

He leaned in to finish the other half and chewed thoughtfully. "Okay, those aren't half bad."

He reached for another and I slapped his hand away. "There's only four left."

"Told you they were her favorite," Max yelled from across the room.

I unabashedly finished all of my zebra domes while Edward showered and had the kids packed up by the time he was finished getting ready.

After hugs, kisses, and goodbyes, we sent Max and Sophie off with Renee and Phil so that we could have a night out, just the three couples. Of course, this was the big night of drinking around the world, so after an early dinner, we found ourselves in Mexico with frozen margaritas. We girls were smart enough to split drinks, knowing we wouldn't make it past the first couple countries otherwise.

I introduced everyone to School Bread in Norway when we ordered our beer, then it was off to China for some plum wine. By Germany, the guys were finally willing to share with us girls, and none of us cared about ditching a drink long before it was empty. It was the only way we'd be able to finish this, and even that was pushing it.

Italy brought Peroni and Rosa Regale, and though it seemed a little anti-climactic, we did get drinks in the American Adventure. Sake in Japan, and a little wine in Morocco brought us into France where absolutely none of the Grey Goose and Grand Marnier slushies were shared or went to waste. We were delightfully tipsy—perhaps even past that point—so we stopped in the pub in the UK pavilion for a pint and some music. With one stop left, we finished our trip around the world with Ice Wine in Canada then stumbled our way through Future World and out to the buses.

Edward started to get a little handsy halfway through World Showcase and the bus full of kids didn't stop him. I tried to tangle my fingers with his in an attempt to keep things somewhat appropriate, but that didn't stop him.

He leaned over to whisper in my ear. "No kids tonight."

The bus was dark, almost completely black. He took my earlobe between his teeth and I had to make a conscious effort not to groan.

"Cut that out," Emmett whispered from behind us and I heard what sounded like a flick just before Edward's hand flew up to the back of his head.

As soon as the bus pulled up to the hotel, Edward hopped up out of the seat, taking my hand and pulling me behind him. I couldn't deny that I was looking forward to what was ahead, but the catcalls from our friends just before we split off into different directions in the lobby was a little embarrassing.

As soon as we were in the room, he kicked the door closed behind us and locked it. I backed away as he advanced, and somewhere around the middle of the room, his hands found the sides of my face to pull me in for a searing kiss. I was breathless with the way my heart was racing, but a moment of clarity interrupted the mood when I felt his hands on the bottom of my shirt as he tried to lift.

"Wait, wait," I said, unable to pull my mouth from his completely. "Curtains. We have to close the curtains."

"There's nothing out there but savannah… there aren't any rooms that can see in," he said, putting more effort into taking my shirt off.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe you should've paid attention at check-in. Or read some of that info over on the table. There are cameras all over the place out there pointed right at the rooms, so unless you want me to put on a show for the overnight security team, I suggest we stop for ten seconds and close those curtains."

He pulled back and assessed me, gauging the veracity of my words and sighed and walked over to the balcony. He froze for a second, and I laughed at the death glare he was giving the hypothetical security voyeur just before yanking the curtains closed.

"There," he said as he returned to me and yanked the shirt off of me. He pressed kisses to my newly exposed skin while his hands scrabbled to discard the rest of my clothing. I tried to do the same to him, but I was too caught up in what he was doing to me to make much progress.

I fell backwards onto the bed and he wasted no time in removing his own clothes and pulling me to the edge. He leaned his weight onto one knee on the edge of the mattress and hovered over me. I'd been just as frustrated at our lack of privacy over the past couple days as he had been and could only utter the word 'please' to him.

It was all he needed, and I wrapped my legs around his waist just as he pushed forward. My hands reached out, fumbling until they found the back of his neck so that I could pull his mouth back to mine. It forced him to lean into me even more, changing the angle, and we both groaned.

"Oh shit," he said, slightly laughing. "My foot keeps sliding across the damn carpet. Gotta move."

I scrambled backwards and he followed before rolling so that I was now above him. We picked up where we left off, and in no time, our moves turned frantic, chaotic, irregular. We fell into a sweaty heap, unable to move and not really caring.

As our breathing returned to normal, Edward was the first two speak. "Definitely two rooms from now on."

I laughed, and moved off of him so lay at his side. "Don't want to have to take my mom on all of our vacations."

He lifted his head to look at me then let it drop back to the mattress.

We took advantage of the childless hotel room, and got a late start in the morning. The last couple days flew by too quickly as always, but I took pride in the fact that I knew we had hooked Edward and this certainly wouldn't be our last trip. The whole flight home was full of plans for 'next time'—most of which initiated by him.

It was always tough returning to real life—families, friends, and demanding careers—after a trip like this, but that Disney Vacation Club brochure that Edward didn't think I knew he'd tucked into his bag helped make the transition a little easier.

* * *

**A/N: So for those of you who aren't as WDW-obsessed... all those things up there are real. DiVine, Wes Palm, Pipa, Push... check YouTube, or if you have a trip planned, look for Steve Soares' WDW entertainment website for info on where to find them. Wes Palm, Pipa, and Push all move around and are totally interactive. The puppeteers hiding and controlling them are pretty amusing. **

**The native on The Jungle Cruise really does say "I Love Disco" and zebra domes really ARE that good. You used to only be able to find them on the buffet at Boma, but they were (are) so popular that they started selling them in Mara a few years ago. Oh, and those targets in Buzz Lightyear really are high point targets. There are a few others in later rooms, but the robot's hand is the first, the easiest... I mean, it's RIGHT there, but most people turn to the right where there are more targets.**


	35. SpecificsA FutureTake for FGB

**Hello again, everybody! Back once more for another peek into the future. Huge thanks to rms33 for bidding in the Fandom Gives Back auction over the summer. She wanted to see a little farther down the road, a teenage Max, and this is what I came up with. Thanks so much for giving me the chance to write this, bb! If you guys like it, thank her!**

**And of course I can't leave without thanking Beans827 & Shug for stepping in to beta again. **

**A little homework before we jump in. Think of your favorite band. Think of the lead singer. Got it? Good. Remember it for later, I like to keep things vague... nothing yanks me out of a story like a reference to a band/singer I can't stand, LOL! Now, let's see where these kids ended up, shall we?**

* * *

**EPOV**

The tires squealed as the car came to a sudden halt. I'd thrown my arms forward to grasp the dash, and for a few moments, the sound of me trying to catch my breath was all that could be heard.

I looked over to see a sheepish looking Max and held my hand out.

"Keys."

He scrunched his face up and huffed as he pulled the keys from the ignition and dropped them into my open palm. He'd only had his permit for a little over a month, but things weren't looking too hopeful. I didn't know what prompted me to allow him to drive today—Bella and I had been taking him out to large, empty parking lots or rarely traveled back roads to let him get a feel for driving. Clearly, he wasn't ready for real traffic.

"Can I drive home?" he asked as we both started walking toward the back entrance to the arena.

I shot him a withering look, and he shrugged as if he'd already forgotten the near death experience that was the drive here. I nodded at the security guard stationed by the doors as we walked past. Inside, there were people everywhere: some who worked for us, some who worked for the bands that were playing, and some I had no idea where they came from.

Max took off on his own almost immediately. Growing up in these places, he knew everyone and they knew him. He didn't need his lanyard most of the time to have free reign at these events.

"How did it go?" Bella asked as soon as I opened the door to the room that served as our home away from home on days like this—an office that looked more like a studio apartment. She'd warned me that letting Max drive probably wasn't the best idea when I'd called her before we left the house, and judging by the grin she was trying to hide, she knew she was right.

I didn't say anything, sure that the look on my face was enough. She laughed and stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, using that position to hide her face.

"Are you okay? Need to lie down? Maybe some deep breathing exercises?"

"Are you making fun of me?" I asked, wrapping an arm around her and holding her to my side.

"Not at all." She pressed her lips into a tight line, but her shoulders still shook with laughter.

I lowered my voice, knowing there were little ears somewhere in the room. "Better watch it."

She gasped when I grabbed her ass and muttered 'tease' just before pushing me away.

"Okay, I have to run and check on some things. I won't be long. If you need me, you know where to find me." She kissed me quickly and darted out of the room; I could hear her being inundated with questions the moment she walked out the door.

"Hi, Daddy." The words were sighed, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"When are you going to give up the hat, Milo?"

We'd gone with a magician theme for his fourth birthday, and months later, he still wore the top hat everywhere he went. He ignored my question and pushed his glasses higher on his face, his fingers pressing directly against the lenses. I could see the day's fingerprints from where I stood, so I reached out to take them and clean them off.

"I can't find my rabbit." Again, his words were punctuated with a sigh, as if he was put out by this development.

I exhaled onto the lenses of his glasses to fog them up before taking the hem of my shirt to them. After holding them up to the light to make sure I didn't miss any spots, I placed them back onto his face.

"No, I haven't seen him. Did you bring him?"

"He put the rabbit in his backpack before we left the house this morning," Sophie called out from her spot on the couch, sprawled out, reading a book.

"Well, hello to you too," I teased, shaking my head when she simply flipped the page and waved in my general direction.

"Daddy, my rabbit?" Milo asked, tugging at my pant leg.

"Yeah, rabbit, okay."

Milo ran over to bug Sophie—who pretended to be annoyed before she let him sit beside her—and I searched everywhere I could think for that rabbit. We were in for a meltdown tonight if he went missing. It was actually Sophie's, but when Milo started this magician phase, he insisted he needed one and 'borrowed' it so often that she eventually just gave it to him. He hasn't gone anywhere without it since.

His backpack was empty so I started searching every corner of the room. Pillows and cushions were tossed from the couch, loveseat, and chair then immediately replaced. Each cupboard was opened, then closed. Every possible—and even the impossible—hiding spot was checked and double-checked. I was on my hands and knees looking under the furniture when the door opened and Bella walked back in. Her head tilted to the side as she slowly closed the door.

"Why are you down there?" she asked and I could hear the amusement in her voice.

Pushing myself to my feet, I answered, "Missing rabbit."

Without saying a word, she walked over to the couch and lifted the top hat off of Milo's head. Turning it so that I could see inside, she said, "This one?"

I could feel my shoulders drop and looked at Milo. "Really?"

He covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes shrinking to slits as he giggled, and everyone else quickly joined in.

"You knew?" I asked Sophie.

She shook her head, but couldn't stop laughing. "No, I swear! I was reading. I didn't see him put it in there."

I dusted nonexistent dirt from my knees. "Uh huh."

I was long forgotten when Milo turned to Sophie and said, "Let's read a _good_ book."

"Hey, Mr. Bossy, this _is_ a good book. You're just too little to appreciate it," she teased but wasted no time closing hers and reaching for one of his from the end table.

I couldn't help but smile as she started to read to him, voicing each character distinctively.

"How are things going?" I asked once Bella and I stepped away.

"So effortless it's scary," she said as she wrapped her arms around my waist and leaned into me. No doubt she'd been on her feet most of the day running around and had to be exhausted. We were both in a position where we could finally step back, and though the plan was to do exactly that, she hadn't started to wean herself off of these hectic schedules yet.

I had opted not to renew my contract and in a couple weeks would no longer be working in radio. Even though Bella was planning on stepping back from the day to day duties at her job, I'd be working with her on some of the bigger projects lined up.

A few years ago, she had managed to buy the company right around the time we found out Milo was on the way. It was insanely chaotic—or maybe just plain insane—and we'd spent many nights debating what to do. It was a huge step in the best of circumstances, but with a baby on the way, it didn't seem like it would be possible.

Corporate had been losing money for years, and their first fix was to sell off their smaller markets. It was a band-aid at best. After a couple years of failed attempts at staying afloat, they had needed to do something drastic, and piece by piece, live entertainment went up for sale.

For weeks, we'd discussed our options. Financially, we had a good start. We still hadn't dipped into any of Bella's settlement as both of us made more than enough to support our family while continuing to save even more. We hadn't allowed our expenses to grow with our incomes, neither of us seeing the need for pricy upgrades.

After discussing our options with each other, accountants, financial planners, and attorneys, we started looking more seriously into the purchase. Bella was eligible for a number of grants since the new company would be owned by a woman. We also had a handful of venture capitalists eager to invest. And not surprisingly—at least to me—the staff whole-heartedly supported Bella, giving her the peace of mind that the transition would be made easier since she'd still be surrounded by the same people who helped her make sure this market was one of corporate's few real successes.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we couldn't pass it up, regardless of bad timing.

After many sleepless nights, mountains of paperwork, and approval of the sale, Bella finally owned the company that she'd poured her heart into for most of her adult life.

She didn't make any major changes for the first couple years. The change in ownership was drastic enough, and she wanted to make sure everything was stable before adding anything new. About a year after the sale, she and I started talking about ways to expand. At first, it was just the two of us tossing ideas around in the evening when the kids were in bed and things had quieted down. After a few months, she started discussing things with Angela. It took about a year to go from hypotheticals to active efforts, but as soon as she started to take a look at plans, Bella was unstoppable.

She bought up a few small venues to add to the list she already owned, but her big project was the venue we currently found ourselves in. We'd searched for the perfect property to build and found a plot of land just outside of the city that was convenient for an outdoor venue. Not wanting her hard work to be limited to summer use, Bella insisted it be an indoor/outdoor venue. The stage could open from both sides so that during the summer, it faced a large seating area and even larger lawn that could fit over fifteen thousand people. During the harsher months, the stage had another set of doors that opened to an inside venue that seated five thousand.

This place was the last major expansion project before Bella had decided to focus her efforts elsewhere.

"So, good news," she said, grinning so widely that her eyes crinkled.

"What's that?"

"I just managed to sign six bands in one shot for this summer."

"How'd you manage that?"

Though we could still hear Sophie and Milo on the other side of the room, not to mention the sounds of people working just outside the door, it felt like a private moment as we were tucked away in the corner of the room. I couldn't stop myself from kissing her lightly.

"You're distracting me," she chastised, but the smile on her on face was playful.

"I'm adoring you," I said and shrugged.

She laughed, "Smooth."

"So, tell me," I said, urging her to continue.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, we're getting six bands for the festival from William Morris at a pretty hefty discount after a little negotiating. They also have a couple up and coming bands they're going to give us for next to nothing just for the exposure. We can use them as filler earlier in the evenings or at the smaller clubs."

This was Bella's newest project and what would be our main focus once I started working with her. The city had a rich music culture, and we'd decided to do what we could to highlight that while making sure this market stayed successful. We'd begun reaching out to club owners last summer, and although some refused to work with the competition, there were many of the small business owners that recognized how valuable it could be for everyone to band together.

We'd set up an independent organization to host a three day music festival in July with the hopes that it would be successful enough to repeat annually. We planned to mix local bands with national acts, dozens of concerts each night at various venues stretching for blocks in downtown Seattle. Some of the side streets would be blocked off for vendors to sell food, drinks, and souvenirs, with one central street set up with an outdoor stage for even more concerts. A twenty dollar wristband would give people unlimited access to all of the clubs taking part in the events.

Bella's connections would guarantee us a full roster, not to mention the promise of innumerable agents, managers, and label reps already planning to be in attendance. For the local, unsigned bands, this was their opportunity to be seen, and many of them had already made plans to perform at different venues each day to increase their exposure.

"That's great news," I said and leaned to kiss her just as her phone started to ring.

She grumbled and looked at the number before giving me an apologetic look and walking away to take the call. A quick look at my watch told me that it was getting late, and if we planned to eat, we had to get over to catering before they ran out or closed up.

"You guys hungry?" I asked as I walked over to Sophie and Milo.

"I want b'sketti," Milo said.

"It's spa-ghe-tti," Sophie enunciated. "Try it. Spa…"

"Spa…" Milo repeated.

"Ghe…"

"Ghe…"

"Ti."

"Ti!" Milo finished.

"Okay, try it together. Spaghetti," Sophie said.

"B'sketti!"

I laughed out loud and picked him up, tossing him over my shoulder and motioned for Sophie to follow. I looked over at Bella who mouthed 'be right there' before returning to her call.

"Daddy, let me down!" The words were barely understandable through Milo's laughs. I peeked over my should as we headed down the hall to see him hanging onto his hat with both hands so that it wouldn't fall from his head while he was suspended upside down.

I'd also looked back just in time to see Sophie sneak up and tug the hat right out of his hands.

"Haha, got it!"

"Hey!" he yelled. "Give it back!"

"Come and get it," she taunted, waving it just out of reach.

I set him on the ground and instructed, "Go get her."

Sophie screamed and took off, Milo's feet slapping behind her.

"Don't go too far!" I called out. After a pause, I added, "And stay out of everybody's way!"

Sophie slowed down and let Milo catch her, pretending to put up a fight and falling to the ground so that he'd think he had managed to tackle her. A few people walked by, laughing at the scene, but I apologized anyway.

The doors to the venue hadn't opened yet, but when we took a shortcut across the stage to head over to where catering had set up, I couldn't help but laugh at the excited chatter immediately followed by audible disappointment from the few people granted early entrance that we weren't any of the performers they were hoping to catch a glimpse of.

And then I noticed the reason Max had taken off so quickly. There on the opposite side of the stage, he was talking to a girl, pointing things out and giving her what looked to be the grand tour, no doubt trying to impress her. Ah, the elusive Hayley. Max clammed up every time her name came up in conversation, and he refused to discuss her. He was always so confident and outgoing that the embarrassment was rather entertaining. Seemed someone had a crush.

He was so distracted by her that he didn't see or hear us coming—unbelievable as that was, considering how much noise Milo made no matter what he was doing. It wasn't until I walked right up behind him and patted his shoulder that he jumped and turned around.

"Be sure to get something to eat." I wanted to laugh at the relief on his face that I didn't have anything to say to embarrass him.

"We will," he said, and I nodded, guiding Milo and Sophie forward before they could fully humiliate their big brother as I was sure they wanted to do.

"Is that your dad?" I heard Hayley say.

"Yeah," Max responded.

"You don't really look like him," she said, her tone curious.

Their voices were fading, but I could hear Max's casual response. "Eh, I look like my mom."

It didn't come up often; we'd been a family for so long that lack of shared DNA between me and him was a non-issue. But still, occasionally he'd catch me off-guard with comments like that, and I couldn't help but smile. I knew he wasn't trying to hide the fact that I wasn't his biological father. It was simply a natural response for him. There was no need for him to differentiate.

We'd never hidden anything from him. As he got older, Bella made sure he knew that if he had questions he could come to her. He knew that Bella had saved a few pictures if he was curious. But he never asked. Some kids would take that kind of abandonment personally, but not him. A couple years ago when the topic came up again and Bella made the offer once more, he asked if he was supposed to care. Both of us were taken aback by his response. There was nothing venomous or angry in his words, just simple curiosity.

"I never think about it," he'd said. "It never occurred to me to care. He's never been a part of my life, and I have a dad… I'm just not really interested. It's his loss, not mine."

Bella's hugs and tears embarrassed him, and after one last reminder that the offer was there if he ever changed his mind, it never came up again.

I wouldn't deny that it was a bit of a relief. I'd never begrudge him that information, but I wasn't too proud to say it would sting a little if he'd wanted to go off in search of that asshole.

We finally made it to the room set up for catering, and I steered the kids toward the line. Sophie took a plate, and I grabbed one for Milo.

"Okay, what do you want?"

Milo didn't answer, and when I turned to see why, he was staring up at the person behind us in line. The look on his face was contemplative.

"Do you work here?" he asked.

"Well, I guess I do tonight," the man answered as he laughed. With another glance, I realized it was the lead singer for tonight's headlining band.

Before I could redirect Milo's attention, he continued on. "My mommy owns this place. Is she your boss?"

Again, he laughed. "If she signs the checks, then I suppose she is."

"Sorry about that," I said, trying not to laugh.

"Milo," Sophie whisper-yelled, embarrassed, but it didn't faze him.

"Do you sing songs?" Milo asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Do you know 'The Wheels on the Bus?'"

"Oh, I think I might remember that one."

Milo nodded his head once. "You should sing it. It's a good song."

"Okay, enough talking… let's get something for you to eat before I get in trouble for not feeding you." I pushed Milo to stand in front of me, blocking him from continuing his conversation. By the time we made it to one of the few tables made available since most took their food to go, Bella was walking in looking a bit morose.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" I asked, getting up to go to her.

She fell into my arms and hid her face in my chest. "Have you seen Max?" she asked, her words muffled.

"Yes, out by the stage about ten minutes ago."

She sniffled and nodded.

"Baby, what's wrong?" I couldn't make sense of her.

She sniffled again and looked up at me. "I feel so old!"

I held her closer, as much for comfort as to hide the fact that I was laughing at her. She wasn't bothered by birthdays and getting older; it was the kids' benchmarks that set her off… especially Max's. As hard as she took him starting junior high and high school, I was afraid to see how she would handle sending him off to college in a couple years.

I saw Max enter the room from over Bella's head so I whispered a warning into her ear. She straightened up and took a deep breath before finally laughing it off.

"Look at him," she said, turning around and leaning her back against my chest. "This is it, isn't it? First girlfriend."

I chuckled into her hair. "I don't think they're quite there yet."

She huffed. "It's just a matter of time."

We sat back down so that we wouldn't be caught watching them, but that didn't stop either of us from casting occasional glances in Max's direction. I expected him to stay as far away from the rest of us as possible, so it shocked me when two chairs scraped the floor at our table.

The girl blushed when everyone's heads turned in her direction and forced a shy, quiet, "Hi."

Max was usually so outgoing and self-assured that it was almost unsettling to see him so nervous. "Um, this is Hayley."

Though Bella was just coming off of her mini-breakdown, she didn't allow that to seep through and gave the girl a genuine welcome, immediately engaging her in conversation and asking if she was having a good time so far.

Before anyone could truly relax, though, Milo fully embraced his 'annoying little brother' role and embarrassed both Max and Hayley.

"Max, is she your giiiiiirlfriend?" The question was made all the more embarrassing by the way he drew out the word.

"Shut up," Max ground out through his teeth, which only made Milo laugh.

Sophie hid her giggles behind her napkin, and Bella wiped at the marinara decorating Milo's mouth, telling him, "That's enough. Leave him alone."

"So, are you excited for the concert?" I asked before an awkward silence took over.

Hayley glanced around, no doubt spying some of the musicians coming in and out of the room. "Yeah, I can't wait."

"Hey, Mom," Max interrupted, "can we watch from the side of the stage?"

Bella looked over at me quickly, and I shrugged. He usually preferred to watch from the seats, to be a part of the crowd, not to mention better acoustics. I supposed he must be trying to impress this girl with a rare, up-close view of the bands that only he could offer her.

"As long as you stay out of everybody's way," Bella said.

"It's pretty cool," Max said, turning to Hayley. "You get to see all the stuff going on behind the scenes, and when you look out at the crowd, you see exactly what the singers see. All those people… singing and cheering."

Hayley beamed, clearly excited and hanging onto Max's every word.

"You're so lucky that you get to see so many concerts. My parents hardly ever let me go to any."

Max shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. It's just the family business. Someday I'll take over."

Bella cleared her throat and looked over at me for a moment before turning to Max with one eyebrow raised. I could tell she was just as amused as I was.

"What?" Max asked nonchalantly.

"You think I'm handing the company over to you?" The grin tugging at her lips showed she was teasing him for his assumption.

Max shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'll go to college, and when I graduate you can retire."

I choked back a laugh, then choked for real, pounding at my chest until I stopped coughing.

"I think I still have a long way to go before I retire, kid," Bella said.

"C'mon," he said. "Dad's already retiring. You two can go travel the world or something."

"Hey!" I said. It was my turn to be offended. "I'm not _retiring_. I'm just in the middle of a career change."

"Same difference," he mumbled.

A wicked look crossed Bella's face, and she didn't take her eyes off of Max though she was speaking to the girl next to him. "So, Hayley… did Max ever tell you about the time when he was little and—"

Her words were immediately cut off as Max launched himself from his seat and ran around the table to cover Bella's mouth. Laughter erupted all around, and the banter continued until everyone had finished.

It was getting closer to show time so we all headed out. Max and Hayley took off toward the stage, while the rest of us headed back to the office, taking the long way back.

I groaned when Sophie tried to jump on my back. Either she was getting too big or I was getting too old. Perhaps a combination of both, but being the sucker I was, I stopped and let her hop on. Bella was ahead of us with Milo, swinging their joined hands as she listened attentively as he rambled on and on.

He pulled her inside once we got back to the office. "Mommy, you color with me, okay?"

"You're going to have to show me how to color inside the lines. I'm not sure I remember," she said as she turned to me.

"Go get your earplugs," I instructed Sophie when her feet hit the floor, then directed my attention to Bella. "You staying here?"

"Mmhmm." She wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her chin on my chest to look up at me. My fingers found their way to her hair and began lightly massaging the back of her head, causing her eyes to droop and a contented sigh to escape her lips. "That feels good."

I leaned in to kiss her lightly once, then twice, and was just going in for a third when I heard, "Yuck."

It seemed parents kissing would always be 'gross.' I huffed in disappointment before quickly stealing my third and stepping back. "All right, let's go."

"Have fun!" Bella called after us.

I took Sophie to the opposite side of the stage from where Max and Hayley had gone. It wasn't much privacy considering we were directly across and could see every move they made, but it was the best we could do. We stayed through the opening act, heading back to the office for a quick drink and to sit a few minutes before the headliner came on. We made it back with plenty of time to spare since Sophie couldn't sit still and was afraid we'd miss it.

None of the kids were easily starstruck having grown up around live music, but even they had a few people they got excited for. Sophie sang along, clapped, and cheered, and while I enjoyed the band, seeing her having so much fun was enough for me. During one song, we goofed around, dancing as I took her hand and spun her around, making her laugh. She was growing up so fast—they all were—but she was so mature for her age. According to Renee and Charlie, Bella had been the exact same way. She was always so serious, stuck in a book or carrying conversations like a little adult that it made me appreciate these moments even more.

After the last encore, we headed back to find Bella so that we could head home for the night. She was sitting on the couch talking business with Aro with Milo's arms wrapped around her neck and his head on her shoulder fast asleep. She still amazed me how she managed to mesh all parts of her life together so seamlessly—not many people could talk contracts with a drooling toddler glued to them.

"I didn't know you were going to be here tonight," I said, shaking his hand.

"Got pulled into a hundred different directions and hadn't had a chance to make myself known until a little while ago. How have you been? I hear you'll be joining forces with your better half soon."

If he hadn't been older than Charlie I might've been concerned by how much Aro adored my wife. I couldn't help but like the guy—he'd always treated my family like his own extended family and was one of the loudest industry champions for Bella taking over the company.

"Yeah, I'll try not to slow her down too much," I teased.

"Oh, shush," she said, shifting Milo to rest higher on her shoulder.

"You coming in this summer?" I asked him.

His hand slapped my shoulder before holding on. "Are you kidding? I'm making sure you guys have at least one of my people booked each night so I have an excuse to stick around the whole weekend. Hopefully pick up some new talent while I'm there."

Max walked in and Aro turned his attention to him. A look at my watch let me know I needed to get everyone moving soon.

After extended goodbyes, Max and Sophie shuffled out to the car, and I carried Milo. Bella had a few things to check on before she could leave but would follow behind as soon as she could get away.

Milo didn't budge when I got him into the house, into his pajamas, and then into bed. I set his glasses on his nightstand to find in the morning before kissing his forehead. Sophie was already in her room under the covers when I walked past.

"Night, Daddy," she mumbled, so tired she was ready to drop off at any second.

I sat on the edge of her bed and brushed her hair out of her face. "Did you have fun tonight?"

She yawned and nodded, "Uh huh."

I leaned down to kiss her temple. "Good night, I love you."

"Love you, too," she slurred.

I was pretty sure she was already out before I'd made it across the room.

Max was sitting in the living room when I finally made it back downstairs. The way he fidgeted let me know he waited around for a reason.

"So, Hayley, huh?" I asked, opening the door for him to speak.

"Um, yeah," he hedged.

"She seems nice," I said.

"She is," he said quietly. "She's shy, though. She, um… well, I was wondering… can I ask you something?"

"What do you want to ask?"

He stopped fidgeting, and when he spoke, he rattled the words out as quickly as possible. "Well, I was wondering how you managed to convince Mom to give you a shot. Aunt Ali always jokes about how Mom was a hermit, never went out with anybody… I was just wondering how you did it."

I chuckled and rubbed at my jaw as I thought about how to answer him. "It wasn't exactly the same situation. She wasn't shy… she just wanted interested in dating."

"Okay, fine… it was different. But how did you get her to open up to you out of anybody she could've gone out with?"

"I was her friend first."

Max rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yeah, sure."

"No, really. Obviously I was hoping for more, but I didn't jump right in and ask her out. I got to know her… and you. Everything else fell into place. The 'friend' thing works," I said, "no bullshit."

I remained quiet as he thought about what I'd said. He finally sighed. "Okay, one more question."

"Yeah?"

"If she agrees, will you drive me and her to the movies next weekend?" I laughed out loud, and he rushed to explain. "I just don't want Mom to get all weepy and emotional."

I laughed louder, and he added, "Don't tell her I said that."

"Yes, I'll drive you," I said and chuckled as he sighed.

"Thanks," he said and stood up. "I'm just going to head to bed… good night."

"Good night."

I leaned back into the couch cushions as he ran up the steps and into his room. I was still there when Bella came home a short while later. She curled up next to me, and for a while, neither of us said a word.

"Any problems over there tonight?" I asked.

"Huh uh." She stretched and moved in closer to me. "Everything ran perfectly. They're still breaking down the stage, but no one needed me for anything."

I rubbed my hand up and down her arm. "Good."

"How about here? Everything go okay getting everyone to bed?" she asked.

"They were all exhausted. I didn't have to do much."

It was quiet for a while again before Bella spoke. "I still can't believe Max has his first… whatever she is right now."

I laughed at her inability to define Max's not yet first girlfriend.

"Still having a hard time with that?" I asked.

"No… yes… not with her, she was sweet. It's just the concept, the idea that he's ready for that. You know, besides the little two week 'relationships' that kids have just so they have someone to call their boyfriend or girlfriend. I don't think I'm ready to handle first dates and things like that."

"Better work on that, he asked me to drive them to the movies," I said, trying not to laugh.

She sat up straight, and I turned to look at her. She looked almost lost, which made me sit up straight to mirror her.

"Already? I'm not ready for the follow up! It's too soon for the follow up!"

I furrowed my brow. "The follow up?"

She huffed. "Yes, the follow up. You know, the talk that comes after 'the talk?' The one where you rehash everything since the kid is now thinking in specifics instead of generalities? The follow up!"

I laughed loudly this time and pulled her to me, tucking her back into my side. "You're a tough girl. You can handle it," I teased.

Her arm swung out to lightly hit my chest, and her bottom lip poked out. I just wanted to kiss that pout off of her, so I leaned over to cover her mouth with mine.

"I have a few specifics I'd like to discuss with you," I said.

"I know you're trying to distract me and change the subject," she said.

"Is it working?" I asked, moving to trail kisses along her jaw and up to her ear.

She grabbed onto my shirt with both hands and stood up from the couch, bringing me with her. "Yes, so let's go."

I loved specifics.

* * *

**Thanks again to rms33... I hope you enjoyed it and apologize for the wait! **

**This is pretty much the end of the road, the last thing I had planned for this story. I won't say never, but as of right now I have nothing on the horizon for this story. It just may be _done_ done this time. Thanks to all of you for hanging on for the ride! Gonna go take Milo out for ice cream now... I kinda want to hang out with that kid. ;-)**


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